


Piece by Piece

by ThatWheelchairChick



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Injury Recovery, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 23,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28322577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatWheelchairChick/pseuds/ThatWheelchairChick
Summary: After Lorelai decides that Christopher can't be in Rory's life anymore, somebody else steps up to the plate. AU.
Relationships: Lorelai Gilmore & Rory Gilmore, Luke Danes & Rory Gilmore, Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AN: So, this is my first chapter story, and I'm a little bit nervous. However, I've been thinking and planning it for months, so I'm getting on with it and hoping for the best. This story is technically an AU starting when Rory is 10, but most things are the same. It was originally inspired by a fan-video on youtube to Piece by Piece by Kelly Clarkson, and it kind of evolved from there.
> 
> I also want to put in a trigger warning for abuse. It happens off-screen and let's just say that Christopher is an asshole. That particular storyline starts around chapters 8.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this.

"Luke," Lorelai pleaded, "I need a favour."

I looked up at her, worried, "What kind of favour?"

"One you're not going to like..." She trailed off, looking over her shoulder at Rory, who had her nose in yet another book.

A pit of dread formed in my stomach, immediately knowing what she needed, "She cried for two hours last week, and you're going to let it happen again?"

She looked back at me, her eyes filling with tears. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, "I know, but I can't forbid her from seeing her father."

"Seeing him? He never shows!" I said harshly, lowering my voice, so the others didn't overhear, "He calls you, he makes plans, and never turns up... She can wait here, I don't mind her being here, but it kills me to watch her cry like that."

She chuckled humourlessly, "You and me both. Chris is due at 10 on Saturday morning, I'll drop her off at 8 before work with money for food."

I sighed, running a hand over my face, "I'll call you when I can't get her to stop crying."

She turned to go back to her table, but stopped for a moment, "If she ever tells me she wants to stop seeing him, she'll never see him again. But I can't stop her from wanting to see him."

* * *

Before opening the diner up on Saturday, I set up my apartment ready for the tears that were sure to come; snacks, a blanket, a few of her favourite films (thank you Lorelai) and a big box of tissues.

While I was obviously hoping that Christopher was actually going to show up, I had low expectations since he hadn't shown his face in 6 months, not counting the time he picked her up and dropped her back 10 minutes later because he apparently had to work. Neither me or Lorelai brought it, but Rory did, which is what mattered.

I served her chocolate chip pancakes when she came in, and made sure she was okay before getting on with serving everyone else. I kept a close eye on the clock as I worked, and every time the door opened after 10, my heart leapt into my throat, hoping it was him.

"Luke, is the clock wrong?" She asked in a small voice as I walked past the table at about midday.

My heart broke for her, "Does it match the time on your watch?"

She nodded, slumping back in her chair, "Maybe he's really late."

"I hope so."

I got on with my job but kept a closer eye on her as I did. She had stuck her nose back in her book, but I could tell she was starting to struggle. I served a few more customers before spotting her wiping away tears.

"Caeser, take over – I need to deal with something for a while. And if I'm not back in an hour, call Lorelai and tell her Christopher never turned up. The number is next to the phone."

I briskly walked over to Rory and started packing up her stuff, "Come on, let's get you upstairs."

Unfortunately, that only made her cry more, and we quickly make our way upstairs so the entire town didn't see. She immediately aimed for the sofa and I put her bag on the table before sitting with her. She latched onto me and cried into my chest. I rubbed her back, letting her get it out. Her whole body shook as she cried for the second week in a row, and I wrapped the blanket around her, remembering that it helped a little.

"Why doesn't he love me?"

The question took my breath away, and rage bubbled inside me. I took in a deep breath, shoved the anger down as far as it could go, and responded with, "He does love you; he's your dad."

"Then he doesn't want me; otherwise he'd be here," She cried, her words barely coherent. I didn't have an answer for her, it wasn't like Christopher had proved otherwise. I resumed rubbing her back, thinking about all of the ways I'd like to turn Christopher into meat; no 10-year-old should be questioning whether her father loves or wants her.

After an hour of rubbing her back, she started to drift off to sleep, exhausted from crying. While I had no intention of moving and leaving her alone, I hoped Lorelai would turn up soon so Rory would have her mother.

Luckily, 10 minutes later, I heard someone running up the steps, and appearing in my apartment. She was flustered and had definitely cried on the way over. She was just as heartbroken as Rory was. I slowly laid Rory down as not to wake her and tucked the blanket properly around her, beckoning Lorelai over to the kitchen.

"This can't happen again," I said sternly, making sure to keep my voice down. Lorelai immediately started to protest, so I explained, "She is convinced he doesn't love or want her. What's next, she convinces herself that you only look after her because Christopher wouldn't? You can't take that risk; he could damage her for life."

She looked horrified, and rightly so. And then she looked guilty, "I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was hurting her that much... how do I cut all contact without hurting her further?"

"I don't know," I sighed, "I really don't know."

Lorelai sunk into a kitchen chair, looking absolutely drained. I offered her a small smile, "Look, we'll figure it out. But I do have an idea of what might help Rory."

She looked at me quizzically, but before I could answer her, Caesar opened the apartment door, "Christopher is here and looking for Rory."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Chapter 1 done. What did you think? I don't think it's bad for a first attempt, but I don't think it's great either. Let me know! Oh, and updates will be on every Monday (hopefully) to set your week off right.


	2. Chapter 2

Luke glanced at me as I slowly stood up and then made his way out of the room. I followed behind him, unsure of what he was going to do.

I got to the bottom of the stairs just as Luke hit Chris in the face. As Christopher straightened back up, blood dripping from his nose, he spotted me and went to walk towards me. Luke shoved him backwards, and I decided to step in.

"You need to leave, and you need to never contact Rory and me again," I stated firmly. Chris began to argue, but I cut him off, "No, you don't get a say in this. Last week, she cried for two hours when you didn't show, and this week, she was questioning whether you even love her. You don't get to do that to _my_ daughter."

"She's my daughter, too."

I took a deep breath in, forcing myself not to hit him, "Her having your DNA doesn't make you a father, especially since you can't even show up when you say you're going too!"

He huffed, "I said I'd be here, and I'm here."

"You're 4 hours late, which is not excusable," Tears began to slip down my face, "Please leave and don't ever come back."

I stood very still, terrified to move. Christopher continued protesting, but Luke spoke up, "You heard her; you're doing more damage than good, so leave."

Others in the diner agreed, some even standing up, reminding me that half the town was watching this entire scene. Christopher stormed out, and I turned and buried my head into Luke's chest, completely falling apart.

My daughter no longer has a father.

* * *

"Rory, sweetheart, wake up," I murmured, shaking her awake.

She moaned a little, opening her eyes, "Hey."

"Good nap?" I asked, and she nodded, "Good. Luke's making us food downstairs, are you up for something?"

Rory nodded, rubbing her eyes, "I'll try... Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think I want to see dad anymore; it never goes well, even when he does show up," Rory told me, and I chuckled a little.

"I've already spoken to your father," I began, "After Luke told me how you were feeling, I decided that it was better for you not to see him anymore. But I'm glad you agree, I didn't like making that decision for you."

"Thanks, Mom."

I helped Rory sort herself out and then we headed down to the diner. Surprisingly, the place was empty, and Luke had switched the sign to closed for some reason, "Luke?"

He poked his head out of the kitchen, "I didn't think you'd want an audience after the day you've both had. Your food will be done in a second."

I was relieved he didn't mention the face-off with Christopher; I wanted to explain that to her as we ate and was hoping no one would mention it. Apparently, Luke decided to be pro-active and completely prevent that from happening until I had a chance to explain myself properly. I was also grateful the small puddle of blood had been mopped up.

He brought out our meals, and I chuckled at what he had. He had decided to do all of Rory's favourites in an attempt to cheer her up. I smiled, the realisation of how much he cared about her settling in my stomach, "Thank you."

I tried to share how grateful I was for everything with those two words, and he smiled at me, squeezing my shoulder as he walked away. As Rory began eating, I started explaining everything that had happened earlier with Chris.

"I'm glad I wasn't there. I wouldn't have been able to agree with that face-to-face, even though it's the right thing," She said between bites when I finished, and I sat back in shock at her adult take on it.

"I sometimes forget that you're only 10 years old," I said with a laugh, and she rolled her eyes at me.

She finished her food before I did and was a little antsy. I tried ignoring her for a while, but gave in, "Why don't you head on home, I'll be there shortly."

She nodded, asked if I'd keep her bag, and was off. I finished shortly after and went up to the counter to pay. However, Luke looked up and said a very stern no before I could even get money out.

"You really care about her, don't you," I said, smiling, "It seems like you care about her almost as much as I do."

He shrugged a little, "Maybe I do."

I went around the counter, emboldened by his response. He was watching me quizzically, trying to figure out what I was up to. I stopped in front of him, putting my hand on his chest, and I reached up to kiss him. He kissed me back for a moment before pulling away.

"Not today; you've had a rough day, and I don't want you doing anything you will regret tomorrow," He murmured.

"I won't regret this, I've wanted this since I met you five years ago," I told him confidently.

He smiled, "So have I, but that doesn't mean you won't regret this. Come to the diner tomorrow evening after closing; we'll talk then."

I nodded, my heart sinking.

I turned to leave, but he pulled me back for one more kiss, "The only reason I'm hesitant is that we have Rory to think about. Not because I don't want to."

I smiled, blushing slightly, "We?"

"She might be yours, but I really do care about her, and I don't want to hurt her because we were careless. She deserves a guy she can rely on. Now go home and enjoy an afternoon with your kid. Oh, and flip the open sign as you leave."

I nodded and silently left, a big smile on my face.

* * *

"Rory?" I called as I stepped into the house. I could hear Christopher's voice, which made me angry all over again. I rushed into the living room and found Rory staring and the phone, "Rory?"

She slowly looked up at me, "He called to ask for money. It's why he showed up at the diner today. He really doesn't care about me, does he?"

I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close as she cried once more, "If that's the case, we don't need him. You don't need him, honey."

"But I want a dad," She cried, "Every kid at school has a father and I don't, and I want one. I don't want to be different."

Luke came into my mind at that moment, reminding me that there is one man who cares about her like Christopher should, but I wasn't sure if I should point it out so I pushed the thought out of my mind, "I think I'd rather you didn't have a dad at all than having one who doesn't care about you at all."

She sniffed and nodded, pulling away from me to wipe her eyes, "Can we watch a movie?"

I chuckled and nodded, "Set the TV up, and I'll get the blankets and snacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I had no intention of messing around with Luke and Lorelai. When I first started planning this, I knew I'd have them get together in the first few chapters (with Lorelai spurred on by how much he cares about Rory). I was bored with the 'will they/won't they' in the original show so I'm not playing that game.
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and see you next week.


	3. Chapter 3

"What can I get you both today?" I asked, avoiding Lorelai's eyes.

"Coffee!" Rory announced, but not in her usual energetic way. I raised my eyebrows at her, amused that she thought I'd let her drink coffee when I never have before. She shrugged, "It was worth a try. Can I have hot chocolate instead, please? And strawberry pancakes."

I chuckled, "Of course. Lorelai?"

Her cheeks slightly reddened as I said her name, looking at her. I hoped she wasn't embarrassed about the previous day's events, but I couldn't quite tell. She stumbled over her words a little, "Coffee and scrambled eggs, please and thank you."

I nodded, heading into the kitchen to help out. I quickly brought everything out for them, keeping an eye on Rory – yesterday was clearly still affecting her, and that worried me. I got on with my work until Lorelai came up to me while I was at the counter.

"Chris left a message on the answering machine yesterday asking for money. He completely ignored everything and asked for money," She explained, wrapping her arms around herself, "It killed her, and I don't know how to help her. What do you say to someone in that situation?"

I looked at her, unsure of myself. I had made a little plan last night of how to help, but I didn't know how she would feel about it, "Are you still coming by after closing?"

"I want to, but it depends on Rory. I can't get a read on her. I don't want to leave her alone if she's that upset," She said, looking over at Rory who was pushing food around her plate rather than eating it, which was unlike Rory. In that aspect, she was like her mother, who would usually devour everything put in front of them in a few seconds without hesitation.

"Rory comes first, I already know that," I said softly, "Just come by if you can."

She nodded, "You said you had an idea for something that might help?"

I chuckled, "It's silly, but I was thinking about getting you to write a list of things he never followed through on, and I would do them instead. It would take time, but it would almost be like a regular reminder that someone other than you cares about her. I don't know..."

"I love it, but you don't have to..."

I interrupted her, "I want to."

Lorelai smiled, relieved. She looked back at Rory, who had pushed her breakfast away and was resting her head in her arms, "I need to get her home, I don't think she slept much last night. I'll try to come over tonight, but no promises."

I nodded, squeezing her arm, "See you later."

* * *

She slipped in the door as I was putting the chairs up, "Rory got an early night, so I got Babette to keep an eye on her while I stepped out. We only had a few tears today, but she's still emotional, which is making me emotional. Hi."

"I hope the extra sleep will make her feel better. How are you doing with it?" I asked, walking over to her and locking the door.

"It's weird, I keep thinking about my parents. I don't get on with them, and they certainly disapprove of my life choices, but I know that they're there. If I was in an accident tomorrow, they'd be there the moment someone called them, but if Rory was in an accident with me and someone called Christopher, I don't think he'd show," She explained sadly, looking down at her hands.

I wrapped my arms around her for a moment before pulling back. I used a finger to lift her head and made her look at me. I wiped away the tears that had reappeared, and briefly kissed her, "I think he might show if it was serious, but I don't think he'd show for something 'minor.' Let's go upstairs and away from possible prying eyes."

She chuckled and made her way upstairs with myself following closely. We sat at the dining room table in silence for a few moments before Lorelai spoke, "I don't want to hurt Rory if this goes bad. She deserves stability and while I want her to know about us, I don't want her to be the one who suffers."

"I get that. I've wanted to be with you since we met, but I was worried about her, myself. I've never been a fan of kids but there's something about her... I just want to wrap her in cotton wool and protect her, you know?" I admitted, smiling a little.

"So why don't we keep this quiet for a few weeks, go on a few dates, and figure it out from then. If it's working, or if we get caught, we tell her. And if it all goes to shit, we'll go back to acting the way we were before, just for her." Lorelai proposed, but seemed sceptical.

I thought about it for a moment, unsure about it, "Do you think that'll work?"

"I don't know. It's hard to plan things like these since kids pick up on so much. And in a small town like this..." She trailed off, running a hand through her hair, "I usually keep my relationships completely separate from Rory so it doesn't affect her, but that's not going to work this time around."

"I love that kid," I started, struggling to find the words to what I wanted to say, "To me, you are a package deal and I don't want to be kept separate from her. I want her to be involved. Give it a few weeks for us to work it out, and then we'll tell her. Together."

"That sounds good.

I stood up, pulled her up with me and kissed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I'm really enjoying writing this so far, and although this story is T-rated, my imagination isn't, so I may write a few smutty one-shots set within this universe. Let me know what you think of this chapter, and thank you for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

As I bent over to put spoiled food in the bin, I spotted something I recognised. Rory's list.

I pulled it out of the trash, and scanned the contents, reminding myself of all the times Chris had let her down. I turned it over, finding another full page of things he did, the last one brand new.

He doesn't care.

I refolded up the list, knowing that it would come in handy with Luke. He had asked for a list of things Christopher didn't do so he could do them instead, even though he had no reason to do so. She's not his daughter and he seemed to have the idea before I even kissed him, so it's not like he thought it would get me in his pants.

I tucked the list into my purse where Rory wouldn't find it, and I poked my head in her room, "I'm off out, will you be okay with Babette?"

She rolled her eyes, "When haven't I been okay with Babette?"

I laughed; she has a point, "Okay, I love you."

I headed for the front door, "There's money on the table for pizza, Babette, and don't forget to order for yourself."

I paused, "Rory is back to sleeping with a nightlight at the moment, the thing with her dad has really messed her up, so don't comment on it if she goes to bed before I'm home."

"I won't sugar, I was there when Luke punched him and I'm not surprised the whole thing has messed her up a bit. Don't worry about her and enjoy your date," She said softly. I hadn't told her I was going on a date but that woman has pretty good instincts. I smiled, thanked her for watching Rory, and left to meet Luke.

* * *

I walked up to the restaurant at the same time that Luke did and we chuckled as we said hello.

He was wearing a blue shirt with the first two buttons undone and a nice pair of slacks. It was the first time I had seen him in anything other than plaid, and it suited him. The shirt was hugging him in all of the right places and reminding me of how good his body was.

"After you," He said, his eyes checking me out, much like I just checked him out. I went in ahead of him and he put his hand on my lower back as we stood next to each other, "Reservation under Danes."

We were led to our table, his hand never leaving my back until we were there. He pulled out my chair for me before sitting on his own.

We were left with menus, but Luke didn't look at his – he seemed to know what he was ordering, like he had been here before. He offered a few suggestions, all of which sounded good, but let me make my own decision. When the waiter arrived, we placed our order, and then we started talking. Really talking.

We spoke about work, and Rory, but none of it was forced. We talked about the day we met, and he even showed me the piece of paper with his horoscope on, the one I wrote. We talked about nothing in particular, and everything we could think of. We talked about our families; he talked about his sister Liz and his nephew (who was the same age as Rory), and I admitted that I wasn't a fan of my parents.

Even when food arrived, we ate slowly so we could talk. For once, I didn't just shovel the food down my throat, and I actually enjoyed the meal. I watched his face light up when he spoke about his parents, and I stored away every word for later, hoping to see that face again.

When the date was over, I was disappointed. However, he took my hand and pulled me into a dark alleyway outside of the restaurant, kissing me passionately in a way that he hadn't before. His tongue asked for permission, and I allowed it, fighting for dominance. He tastes incredible and every part of my skin was tingling.

I slipped my hand under his shirt, desperate to feel his skin on mine, and while he kept one hand in my hair, the other was just ghosting over my ass. He pulled a little on my hair, making me moan with delight; quickest way to drive me wild, that is.

With disappointment, I pulled back, "As much as I want more, not tonight. And certainly not in an alleyway."

He chuckled, "Are you opposed to a lake? Or maybe the back of my truck?"

"And I thought I would be the brave one in the bedroom," I teased, surprised by his suggestion.

"Until Rory knows, we can't risk anything so we need to be adventurous if we want to take it further," He whispered, kissing my neck softly.

"Well, I might consider it next time," I say, kissing him one last time, "Goodnight, Luke."

He smiled at me, kind-of adoringly, "Goodnight, Lorelai."

I smiled all the way home, and when I got in, Babette gave me a strange look, "With that hair, I'm surprised you're home this early."

I checked the back of my head, finding a lovely mess left over from my make-out session. I'd forgotten how easily it messed up and that a good make-out session would always leave me looking like I'd had several rounds of mind-blowing sex. I felt my cheeks burning, "It messes up easily, I try not to put out on the first date."

Babette didn't believe me, but she left with no other questions, a big grin on her face. I checked in on Rory who had fallen asleep with Colonel Clucker under her chin and a worn-out book hanging from her hand. I rescued the book from its untimely death and bookmarked it before putting it on her desk. I pulled up her blanket and lightly tucked her in, turning on her nightlight and turning off the main light, and pulling the door to.

I put away the leftover pizza and headed up to bed myself, exhausted from the emotions that had been coursing through me for a little over a week. Rory hasn't been herself since Christopher stood her up and then asked me for money, and then the thing with Luke and sneaking around (for Rory's benefit) has just added too it.

The moment my head hit the pillow, I was out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I found the date-portion rather difficult to write, apparently dates aren't my forte. I'm hoping it'll get easier with practice, but for now, they'll be more descriptive than anything as I apparently have no idea what I'm doing with that. I would also like suggestions of what to put on Rory's list of things Christopher didn't do. While I have quite a few, I can always do with more, so please drop some suggestions.


	5. Chapter 5

After six weeks of dating, we had settled into a nice rhythm. I was fairly certain Miss Patty had figured it out but since she hadn't declared it to the entire town, I wasn't panicking about it.

I was starting to think about the relationship, though; I've loved both Lorelai and Rory from the beginning. The connection to Lorelai was instant, but when I met Rory... it was like everything changed in a very strange way. I felt like it was my job to keep her safe, like she was my responsibility, even though I had no reason to even like the girl. I had never been one to believe in fate or anything like that, but the instant need to protect her, to keep her safe from everything... the only explanation is that it was supposed to be that way.

I explained this to Lorelai on our date tonight, and she laughed, "That's called being a parent. I didn't think I'd love Rory when I was pregnant, and then I held her, and it was magic."

She went quiet, "I don't think that even happened for Christopher, that he had that feeling. And you did, which is crazy. I think you were meant to be a part of our crazy little family, you wouldn't have had that feeling, otherwise."

I smiled sadly, "I wish I had known you both from the beginning, maybe I could have been her dad and maybe he wouldn't have had a chance to hurt her. Maybe I could have done more."

"Well," She started, "You have the chance now, and both me and Rory are open to it, even if she doesn't know we're together yet."

"I can't wait to tell her," I admitted, and she chuckled.

"Soon, I promise," She said, quickly changing the subject.

She was putting it off.

I was ready to tell Rory, for Rory to be involved, and while Lorelai seemed ready to involve her daughter, she was hesitant. Maybe because she had never taken a man home, or maybe because she was scared of hurting Rory, or maybe it was just because Rory was especially vulnerable right now because of her asshole of a father, but the reason didn't matter; Lorelai was hesitant.

I knew that this could really affect Rory, especially if it all goes wrong, but something in my heart was telling me it wouldn't. Even if it did go wrong with me and Lorelai, the way I care about Rory isn't going anywhere and I wouldn't leave her like her father did.

I knew I would be okay with waiting if Lorelai would talk to me about it, but she keeps saying 'soon' and moving on, even when I do try to ask her what's going on. I'm not even sure she's hearing me.

"Lorelai?" An unfamiliar voice called, making us both look up from our conversation. Her eyes widened and I could just hear her cursing under her breath. With a glance at the person, I made the assumption he was a relative, probably her father.

"Lor?" I questioned softly as she stood up to embrace the gentleman.

"Hi Dad, are you here with Mom?" She asked politely, with an undertone of annoyance.

He laughed, "No, I'm meeting some possible clients for dinner. I presume you're on a date?"

I stood up and introduced myself to him, but Lorelai interrupted me, "He's my boyfriend, Dad."

"Huh..." His eyes raked over me, probably trying to figure out my societal status (based on what Lorelai has told me about them) and then he said, "I have to get to dinner, but maybe we should catch up soon."

He walked off before she could respond, and she sunk into her chair. I sat back down and took a long drink.

* * *

"I'm sorry about tonight," She said as she left the restaurant, "I don't see my parents often because we don't get on, but I do see them on holidays so Rory doesn't completely miss out."

"It's okay – parents and families are a part of being in a proper relationship with someone," I said softly, pulling her in for a kiss. She looked around, before dragging me into the nearest alleyway, which had been our new tradition since we were limited.

The kiss was immediately heated, our hands roaming. I kept one hand in her hair at all times, being her favourite, but my other one slipped under her dress, blinding exploring her body. Her hands were everywhere, unable to settle on a destination. Every touch was a surprise, often causing me to tighten my grip on her hair, causing an endless circle of pleasure.

When our make-out session ended, we headed to our separate vehicles, making me wish we were out to Rory even more. The drive home was lonely, and my apartment was lonelier.

However, being alone did mean that I was able to work on a little project that I've had for a while, so there was that benefit. I just hoped that it was finished in time for when I needed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So this chapter is a lot shorter than intended but I needed a filler chapter to put us back in Lorelai's point of view. Don't ask. Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and I would also still like suggestions of what to put on Rory's list of things Christopher didn't do. While I have quite a few, I can always do with more, so please drop some suggestions.


	6. Chapter 6

"Can we talk upstairs for a minute?" I said quietly, and Luke nodded. We headed upstairs and I handed over the piece of paper in my hand, "I have that list for you. It's mostly little things but they mattered a lot to her, especially when she was younger."

He took the sheet from me and scanned it, "Did he ever do anything with her?"

"Turn it over."

He looked horrified, and didn't turn over the page, "How did you remember everything here?"

I sucked in a deep breath, "She started keeping a list when she was 6. Every time he let her down or messed up, it got written down. The ones with ticks are ones that I managed to do with her instead but that's only a handful in comparison to everything on that list. And none of that's counting everything that happened before she turned six. I've rewritten it all out as I found the list in the bin a few days after you punched him."

He slowly turned over the sheet of A4 paper and skimmed over what else was there. He looked sad, probably as he spotted things like 'daddy-daughter school dance' and 'Father's Day school lunch'. He looked up at me, "I wish I had done more than punching him."

"Yeah, and I wish I had stopped this years ago. What on earth was I thinking, letting him let her down so much?"

"Like you said, you wanted her to have a father. But he doesn't deserve that privilege," He closed his eyes and shook his head, and when he opened them, he said, "I want to tell her about us. Tonight."

I looked up at him with surprise; I had expected it to be my idea to tell her, but he beat me to it. I had been thinking about it but I had been too nervous to actually tell him that. I took a mouthful of coffee, before nodding, "I'd like that. But what made you..."

He interrupted me, "I am in love with you, and I love her. I want her to know about us, and I want her to have a male figure in her life that isn't going to repeatedly break her heart."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him softly, "I love you too. Come over at 8 and we'll tell her. And bring food."

* * *

The doorbell rang 10 minutes early, surprising me. I beat Rory to the door and greeted Luke, "What food have you got?"

He rolled his eyes and handed over the bag. I opened it and was annoyed that nothing was labelled so I couldn't tell. He smirked at my disgruntled face, finding it amusing. Of course.

"Oh hey Luke, what are you doing here?" Rory questioned, confused.

"Me and Luke need to talk to you about something," I said carefully, stepping back and gesturing for Luke to come in.

"It's 'Luke and I', Mom, not 'me and Luke'," She corrected, and I rolled my eyes. I handed her the bag of food, which luckily distracted her. She headed into the kitchen, which allowed me to give Luke a sneaky kiss.

I shut the front door and led Luke into the kitchen, nerves bubbling up into my stomach. Rory was unpacking the food and not really paying attention.

"What did you want to talk to me about? Am I spending too much time at the diner? Or getting in the way?"

"Me and Luke are dating."

The words fell out of my mouth – I didn't mean to just blurt it out, but I could tell that Rory was about to start spiralling and it was the quickest way to get her to stop and focus. I wouldn't recommend it, but it does the job.

"Oh..." She looked between me and Luke, unsure of herself.

I sat her down at the table, me and Luke joining her, and I started explaining, "It's not a bad thing, honey, it's a good thing. He's going to be around a lot more and you might hear people gossiping about us, but this isn't a bad thing, for you or for me."

She was quiet for a moment, "You've never introduced me to people you've dated before now."

"I didn't want it to affect you negatively if it didn't work, but since Luke is already in your life, it's a bit harder to keep it from you. But I think this is going to last longer than most of my other relationships – they usually run the moment they realise you're more of a priority than they are."

Rory laughed, remembering the last few guys, and then she frowned again. Luke sat forward a little, looking directly at her, and said, "Rory, I never thought I was a kid person, but then I met you and your mom. I care about you so much and I have done from the beginning – it's why it's taken so long for your mom and me to get together, because we both care about you and didn't want you to get hurt in the crossfire."

I could see her mind going a mile a minute, trying to figure out how she felt about this. She opened her mouth a few times to say something but stopped before a sound came out. Eventually, she spoke, "I've known that you liked each other for about about a year because I heard a bunch of people betting on when it would happen. I liked the idea because Luke has been there for both of us more than Dad ever was, but I was also scared that I'd lose Luke if things went wrong. How long have you been dating?"

I smiled, "Since Luke punched your father, so about a month and a half. Honey, are you okay with this?"

Rory nodded, "That means Sookie won the bet. And I'm okay with it, I'm just a little worried."

Luke and I agreed with her, that this whole situation was good but a little worrying, and then we finally started eating. We ate quietly with Rory still digesting the information, and Luke keeping a very close eye on her, like he was concerned. She might not be as chatty as me, but she is usually rather chatty and barely said a word.

After we ate, we found a film that Luke hadn't seen and watched it together like a family; me and Luke on the sofa with his arm around me and my head on his shoulder, and Rory sat on the floor against our legs. She had perked up a bit and was adding her own comments as we watched, making me chuckle because of how much she sounded like me. While I would have expected it to annoy him like it does when I do that, he even chuckled at what she was saying a few times, more entertained by her comments than he was the film.

He was acting like a dad, obsessed with everything their child does. And even though I already knew I loved him, it cemented his place in our family for me, and made me hope for more family nights like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This chapter is one of my favourites so far and I'm really enjoying this story. I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it, and let me know what you thought.


	7. Chapter 7

I watched Lorelai jog across the road, bursting into the diner, "Luke."

She closed her mouth and walked back out, like she had talked herself out of whatever it was she wanted to ask. I continued with what I was doing as she paced outside the diner, looking like a crazy person. I could tell she was muttering to herself, and avoiding my eyes.

Miss Patty narrowly avoided her as she stepped into the diner, "What's with Lorelai?"

"She's finally lost the plot," I said in response, not really meaning it. I was actually getting worried.

She stopped pacing and looked at what was in her hands, paperwork by the look of it, and sighed dramatically. She then looked through the window at me and made accidental eye contact. She sighed again, and then came inside.

"I need coffee," She said, looking at a spot over my shoulder. She held the paperwork facedown so I didn't see what had gotten her so on edge, but I complied with her request.

"Is everything okay?" I asked her as I poured her coffee and she looked down at her feet.

"Yeah but I do have something to ask you. It's a big ask and it's okay if you say no, but I trust you more than anyone else and would be super grateful if you did this," She was rambling and getting herself all worked up, even though I had no idea what she actually wanted.

I walked around the counter and kissed her mid-ramble, effectively silencing her, "Tell me what you need."

She looked at the paper in her hands, "To remove Christopher as Rory's second emergency contact, I need a replacement. I'm doing the school first but she also needs the details in her purse in case something happens outside of school and they can't get hold of me. Sookie has offered to do it, but both me and Rory wanted you."

"Pass me the paperwork," I said, pulling out my pen. I filled in the necessary details with no hesitation; given that Lorelai often called me when something was wrong anyway, it wasn't a problem for me.

Once I finished with the paperwork, she drained her coffee and kissed me briefly, "I'm late for work, see you tonight at the town meeting?"

"I'll bring snacks," I told her begrudgingly, returning to my job. She dashed out the door and I noticed the fact that we had an audience.

"When did that happen?" Patty asked, shocked that she didn't know.

I thought for a moment, "When I hit Rory's dad. And it was Sookie who won the bet so you'll have to pay up at the town meeting."

I didn't see the point in delaying the inevitable and it saved them from trying to figure out who won.

* * *

"You didn't bring popcorn," Lorelai whined, and I raised my eyebrows at her. She thought for a moment, "It was Rory's idea!"

"Hey! If you're going to lie about it, make it believable," Rory piped up, mock-glaring at her mother.

Lorelai stuck out her tongue, behaving like a child. I rolled my eyes at the pair of them, but internally, I liked it when they were acting like this, it meant they both had a good day and that's all I wanted.

Sookie joined us, dipping her hand into Lorelai's fries, "Do you know what today's meeting is about?"

"Taylor probably wants to introduce a new town event or something," I muttered, given that that's always what Taylor wanted.

The girls ignored me and threw out random guesses until Taylor actually joined us. I didn't really listen to him, choosing to watch my girls make comments and entertain themselves instead. While I had never cared for town events, watching Rory and Lorelai have fun was entertaining for me and made me want to never miss a town meeting again, no matter how ridiculous it turned out to be.

After the meeting, Sookie collected her winnings from the bet, grinning from ear to ear. As we watched, Lorelai leaned over to me, "We need better friends."

I laughed, "Agreed."

"Mom, I'm going to go and see Lane for a bit as we're doing homework together," Rory said.

"Only for an hour, and we'll be at Luke's," She said, and Rory darted off. Lorelai turned and wrapped her arms around my neck, "Spend the night at mine."

"What?" I said, taken back with surprise, "Are you sure?"

She nodded, "I want to sleep next to you. I want to turn over in the middle of the night and have you there beside me, I just want more."

"As long as Rory's okay with it," I started.

"She is," Lorelai interjected.

"Then let's do it. I'll have the diner open while she's at Lane's and we'll go home together."

* * *

After we were home and Rory was in bed, we almost immediately aimed for the stairs, our lips attached. We quietly made our way up the stairs while fumbling with buttons and trying to get closer to each other. I had picked her up by the time we were at the top of the stairs, wanting her body on mine.

I slowly stripped her, wanting to enjoy every part of her body. And after doing everything I wanted to do to her, we laid back, and all I could think about was how we fitted together and how natural everything was.

"This feels right, like I _should_ be here with you," I murmured, and Lorelai looked up at me with a smirk, "So you had doubts?"

I rolled my eyes at her, laughing, "You know what I mean."

"I do. And you're right, it feels like you belong here. And I think you always did."

I kissed her forehead as we drifted off to sleep, thinking about how much time I wasted waiting for the right moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I found this chapter really hard to write without drifting into M territory, but it'll do. I'm really looking forward to publishing the next chapter since it's about to get really good (from my perspective). Let me know what you thought of this chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

We all settled into a nice routine after Luke spent his first night. It was nice having another adult in the house half the time, and I knew that Rory was enjoying his presence, especially having cooked meals at home - he was even teaching her to cook, which was fun to watch. Things felt right, and while I knew things were bound to start going wrong soon, I was enjoying the peace while I could.

I stumbled down the stairs at about 7am, finding Rory pulling food out of the oven. It was freshly cooked and perfectly timed with me and Rory getting up. We talked about the day ahead, with her telling me about the stuff she was learning and me telling her about the wedding that was happening today. I warned her that I'd probably be home late, and she shrugged, telling me she'd go to Luke's.

Before work, I headed into Luke's for a coffee top-up and a kiss, and he wished me luck for today; he knew that I had been stressed about it all week and he gave me a free doughnut to make me feel better. The day dragged on but went pretty well, all things considering. When I got home, I was in a pretty good mood until I saw Rory and Luke's faces.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and Rory sniffled, "Check the answering machine."

I hit play and instantly realised the problem.

"Hey Lor, I know you told me to not call you or the kid anymore, but I need money and I can't ask my parents for it. Please call me."

He didn't even acknowledge her name or ask how she is. Just 'I need money' as per usual. I wrapped my arms around her, "We don't need him, remember. Ignore him, he doesn't deserve your tears."

She nodded, clearly still upset, so I said, "How do you feel about pizza for dinner?"

"Okay, I'm going to go and read while I wait," She said, disappearing into her bedroom.

I turned to Luke, and he wrapped me up in a big hug, holding me close, "I don't know why I'm so surprised, why would he listen to my demands if they didn't benefit him."

I pulled away, wiping my eyes, "I need to go and get changed, could you order the food?"

He nodded before pulling me in for a kiss. It was gentle and brief, almost comforting. I kissed him back, turning it into something more, wanting to forget what had just happened. He responded in kind for several moments, and then pulled away, "Later."

After a quick shower and getting changed, I found Luke and Rory curled up together on the sofa watching a film. I sat down on Luke's other side and he wrapped his free arm around me, and that was where we stayed until the food arrived.

After we ate, Rory headed straight to bed, claiming she was tired. And while I knew that she was tired, I knew she really wanted to read one of her favourite books, one that I brought for her after Christopher let her down a few years back. I kissed her goodnight, and then rejoined Luke.

"I forgot to ask, how did your wedding go today?" He said as I settled in his arms.

"It went better than expected, and it's on days like these that I really love my job," I admitted, feeling guilty for having such a good day.

He kissed me, "She had a good day too, she was telling me all about it when we got in. She automatically played the message, and it changed how she felt, but she did have a good day. And she's really looking forward to tomorrow so hopefully, school will distract her."

Luke wasn't the type of person to lie to make me feel better, which meant a weight lifted from my chest, "She was in a good mood?"

He nodded, "Now I'd like to cheer you up since this evening has been all about Rory. Your turn."

He said it with a wink, which meant I knew exactly where this was going. So, I stood up and dragged him towards the bedroom, wanting to get started as soon as possible.

* * *

The first time I woke up the next morning, Luke was getting dressed for work, "Go back to sleep, I'm opening the diner."

He kissed my forehead, like he did every time he got up before me, and let me go back to sleep. The next time I sort-of woke up, I assumed it was Luke again; he had probably forgotten something. While he didn't say anything, I didn't think much of it.

The third time I woke up, it was quarter to nine and I was late.

Throwing on my clothes, I dashed down the stairs, dragging a brush through my matted hair. I looked in the bathroom mirror, panicking a little because my hair was frizzy, but I knew I didn't have time to fix it. I rushed into the kitchen to check how warm the coffee was, to find it was stone cold and I had to go without until I was at work. I checked Rory's room to make sure she had gotten up on time to find it empty, as expected. I could see that she had eaten that morning, and her bag was gone, so I presumed she had left early and had not thought much about me not being up.

I shoved a pop-tart in my mouth and ran out to my car, driving off to work.

"Coffee, coffee, coffee!" I chanted as I entered the kitchen at the inn, holding out my mug to Sookie. She laughed and poured it for me, allowing me to focus on signing the documents while using my knee as a table.

"Did you forget to set your alarm this morning?" Sookie asked as she handed over my cup, and watched in amazement as I downed the mug in one hit, holding it out for a refill.

"Apparently not," I muttered, despite being sure I had set it given that Luke had done his at the same time. I drained my second mug of coffee before rushing off, now being over an hour behind schedule.

The rest of the morning passed by in a flurry of document signing, planning and looking at finances. I was dead on my feet by lunchtime and had re-joined Sookie in the kitchen to try her new dish, "It tastes healthy."

She laughed, "Well it is, but do you like it?"

I stuck my nose up with a mock-glare, "'Healthy' food is poison, you're trying to poison me!"

She rolled her eyes as Michel entered the room, "Lorelai, it's for you."

I took the phone and left the kitchen, "This is Lorelai Gilmore, how may I help you?"

"Miss Gilmore, this is Mr James from Stars Hollow Elementary School here, we were just wondering if Rory is okay?"

I frowned, confused, "She got an upsetting phone call from her father yesterday, but seemed to be fine otherwise? Is something wrong?"

"Hmm," Mr James sounded confused, "Are you aware that she never showed at school this morning?"

I suddenly felt like someone had tipped a bucket of ice-cold water over me, "I wasn't aware... I need to look for her."

I immediately hung up, my heart beating hard in my chest and my hands shaking.

"Lorelai, are you okay?" Sookie asked from the kitchen, and I looked up at her and shook my head.

"I need to call Luke."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I know, it's cruel to leave it here, really. But chapters 9 and 10 are already written so there will be no delays. You only have to wait 7 days, that's a promise. Now let me know what you thought, and where do you think Rory is? I'd like to hear your theories. Also, Merry Christmas for Friday to those that celebrate. I hope you have a good one.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: In this chapter, there will be implied child abuse, so if this could be a trigger for you, please be careful and do what is best for you.

"Rory's missing. I got up late this morning, and I thought she had left for school, but the school just called me, and she never showed. Have you seen her?"

"Not since I left this morning, she was just getting up as I was leaving to open the diner, but give me a moment," I said into the phone. I placed it down on the counter, not hanging up, and walked over to the table where Babette and Miss Patty where sat, "Have either of you seen Rory today?"

Miss Patty shook her head, but Babette thought for a moment, "I saw her when she left for school a little before 8. I thought it was a bit early, but it's not unusual. Why?"

"She never showed up at school," I said shortly, already going back to the phone, "Babette saw her before 8 but nothing since. Can you leave work? I'll ask anyone who comes in, but you might want to start looking for her."

She was quiet for a long moment, "She's never skipped school before. Luke, I'm scared."

I nodded, even though she couldn't see me, "I know. See you soon?"

She hung up without a word, and I stared at the phone for a minute before putting it down. She's never done that before; her mind has got to be going a mile a minute. And mine is blank.

I served a few regulars and asked them if they had seen Rory, with a consistent no. Babette and Miss Patty had disappeared, telling me they were going to get the word out and tell people to come here if they had any information, but I felt helpless. I had no idea where she would be, and I had no idea how to support Lorelai, either.

The door opened, and I briefly spotted Lorelai heading into the Kim's house as someone I didn't recognise came in, "Coffee to go, please."

"Sure," I said, not bothering to ask about Rory; I knew everybody living in this town (and their families), so I didn't see the point. I sorted the coffee and passed it over, almost forgetting to charge the guy. He immediately vanished, and Lorelai came in, her eyes darting all over the place, looking for Rory.

"She's not here. Now sit down; Babette and Miss Patty are going door-to-door and telling anybody with information to come here. Running yourself ragged isn't going to help."

"No, coffee to go, I need to go home to see... maybe she left a note, or maybe she's called the landline and left a message, or," She was talking so fast she was tripping over her words, her whole body shaking.

"Lorelai, you need to breathe," I told her sternly, "Slow down and just think for a minute. Why would she skip school? Is she being bullied? Or is something else bothering her?"

She put her head in her hands, taking slow, shaky breaths. I walked around the counter and rubbed her back, focusing on her for a moment.

"Lorelai!" Came a familiar voice. Kirk.

"Not now, Kirk," I told him, glaring at him. Can't he tell something's wrong?

He stepped back, gulped, and then said, "I saw Rory this morning. She was getting on a bus."

"What bus? What time?" She asked, standing up.

"The number 19 at 8:15."

She nodded, "That goes to Hartford Bus Station... Okay, Luke, I need to make a phone call."

I nodded to Lorelai and turned back to Kirk, "Was she with anyone?"

He shook his head and I shooed him out as Lorelai started speaking, "I need to speak to Emily or Richard Gilmore, please."

Her parents.

"Is Rory there?" She shook her head with frustration, "Yes Mom, it's Lorelai, now tell me if Rory is there. I need to know."

Her shoulders sank, a tear slipping down her face, "I'm not in the mood for a lecture, Mom. My daughter is missing, and I need to find her."

She hung up the phone, "They haven't seen her. Which means she could be anywhere. I don't know what to do."

I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close, "She's a smart kid, she'll be okay."

Lorelai huffed, "She's also my kid, so if something goes wrong, she might be too stubborn to call."

Miss Patty poked her head in the door, "Did Kirk make it to you? Because..."

I cut her off, "He saw Rory get on the 8:15 bus to Hartford, we know. Anything else?"

She shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry. I'll let you know if I see or hear anything."

"Thanks," I said, and Lorelai smiled sadly at her.

The phone rang, so I kissed Lorelai's forehead before going around and answering it, "Hello?"

"Luke, it's me. Don't tell Mom."

I fought the urge to turn around and tell Lorelai, and said "Okay..." into the phone. I grabbed my pad and quickly scrawled ' _its rory be quiet_ ' and passed it to Lorelai. She gasped and then clapped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stay quiet.

"I know you're both probably going to be mad at me because I skipped school and stole some money from Mom's purse and turned off her alarm so she would be late, but I need you to come and get me. Please," Her voice broke as she finished what she was saying, which worried me even more.

"Where are you?" I asked, preparing to start writing her whereabouts down on another pad.

"I'm calling from a payphone outside of the South Station Bus Terminal in Boston," She admitted, and I furrowed my brow. Boston? Why would she go there? She dryly chuckled, "I came to see Dad. I wanted him to care about the fact I'm no longer in contact with him since he's no longer trying. All he's doing is calling Mom to ask for money – he doesn't even ask about me anymore."

She was now crying because of him, yet again. I sighed, "Is there somewhere you can wait for me inside?"

"Yeah, there's a waiting area in front of where you buy the tickets, just inside the centre."

"Okay, wait for me there. Do you want me to bring your mom?"

She sighed, "No, I'm not ready for the lecture. Do you mind coming alone?"

I smiled, "Of course not. I'll be as fast as I can, but I might be as much as 2 hours. But I promise that I'm coming, okay? Just go and sit down, I'll be there shortly."

I hung up and turned around to Lorelai, who still had her hand over her mouth, "She's in Boston."

A look of realisation came over her, "Christopher."

I nodded, "She's asked that you don't come. And you might want to check your purse, you should be missing some money."

I ran upstairs to find a map and grab a jacket, before heading downstairs. I looked at Lorelai who was pacing and getting antsy already, so I said, "Lorelai, you're going to spend the next few hours waitressing. It'll keep you busy and help me out."

She nodded, unsure of herself, "Okay... Thank you for doing this."

"I'd never refuse to help you or Rory, you know this," I told her, kissing her.

"It's one thing for you to say it, but it's another thing for you to actually follow through. Chris never followed through, so thank you for doing for her what Christopher should have been doing," I could hear in her voice how grateful she was. The tears in her eyes were no longer ones of fear, anger or sadness, "Call me when you're with her. Please."

"I will. I love you. See you in a few hours," I said, squeezing Lorelai's hand before leaving.

* * *

I broke multiple traffic laws during the 90-minute drive. I had to follow the map closely having never actually gone as far as Boston before. Still, I managed to get there sooner than anticipated. I parked across the street from the centre and walked straight in, looking around for Rory.

"Luke!"

I turned around in time for her to throw her arms around me, "I was so worried that you wouldn't come."

I stepped back and looked down at her; her eyes were puffy, her face was covered in red blotches and tears, there was blood leaking from her bottom lip and there was a large graze on her cheek. I knelt down since I could then be face to face with her, and said, "If you call me, I will be there. No matter what, okay. That's a promise."

She nodded, looking younger than her age, "Can we go home?"

"What happened to your face?" I asked, taking out a pack of tissues from my pocket and using one to dab at the wound.

She looked nervous and away from me for a moment before answering, "I tripped."

I knew she was clumsy and I would usually believe her, but I had a bad feeling about this, "You can tell me what happened, you know. I won't be angry with you."

"I tripped, honestly," She said, even though she couldn't look me in the eye as she said it, "Can we go now? Please."

"I need to call your mom," I told her, and she frowned.

"How mad is she?"

I laughed, "I don't know. She's spent most of today terrified, so she's probably going to yell at you a bit, but she'll also be happy that you're home and safe. Can I call her?"

She nodded, so I pulled out my cell and dialled hers, "I've got her. She has a bloody lip and she's quite upset, but she's safe."

"Can I talk to her?" She pleaded, sounding desperate to hear Rory's voice.

"Rory, do you want to speak to your mom?"

She hesitated, but nodded, so I handed over the phone and let them talk. Rory almost immediately burst into tears and explained some of what happened hearing her mom's voice. She explained how she had overheard Christopher on the answering machine yesterday asking for money, but not even asking about Rory. It had made her want to see him, just to see if he cared at all. She wanted to know for sure. Apparently, the first thing he said when he saw her was 'did your mother send the money with you' and lacked interest after that and told her to leave. He didn't even care about the fact she was a 10-year-old in an unfamiliar city.

I had a feeling that there was more to the story than she was letting on, but I wanted to talk to Lorelai face to face about it, rather than doing it over the phone. She eventually hung up and thanked me for letting her speak to her mom like it was a big deal.

"It's okay," I said, "Let's get you home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I actually wrote it after writing chapter 3. I had decided to bank it for later as it would be a great twist and I finally got to use it. Let me know what you think of this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Also, I'm not sorry for making you wait a week; I like routine so there's that and also if I posted it all in one hit, I'd get fewer reviews. It also means there's less pressure to write chapters quicker; at this point, I have all the way to 15 written giving me a little break and I can stay ahead of the schedule. Anyway, it didn't harm you to wait. Now, please review because this is my best chapter yet.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So, in the last chapter, the abuse was implied and happened off-page. In this chapter, the abuse is explained and talked about, but not graphically. If this is triggering for you, please proceed with caution.

I saw Luke's truck pull up outside of the diner, and it took every ounce of my self-control not to run out there. I watched Luke help her out of the truck, being a bit too short. She winced as she was set on her feet, but she took off immediately, running into the diner and my arms.

"I'm so sorry, Mommy," She cried, and my heart clenched; She hadn't called me Mommy since she was five and starting school.

Luke followed her in, his face a picture of concern. He kissed my cheek, and put a hand on Rory's back, "Go and sit down at your table. I'll get you a burger."

She nodded and went and sat at her table, taking off her jacket. As she did, she winced again and then I saw it, "Luke..."

He turned to look at her as she pulled her coat back on, and his face reflected how I felt, barely catching what I had seen, "Actually, you're both going upstairs. I'll get her burger, and then we'll talk."

I nodded, silently walking over to her, "Hey sweetie, Luke wondered if you might be more comfortable upstairs? The whole town knows you went missing so it might get a bit busy if they realise you're back."

I was making it up, hoping she'd buy it. She stood up gingerly, like her whole body was in pain, and let me pick up her bag, "Mom, I'm tired. Can I go to sleep once I've eaten?"

"Did you hit your head when you fell?" I asked, not wanting to tell her I knew what happened.

She thought for a moment, "My head hurts but I don't remember hitting it."

I swallowed once, trying to keep control, "If I let you sleep, I'll have to wake you regularly to make sure you're okay."

She nodded before climbing the stairs to Luke's apartment. She immediately aimed for the sofa, pulling her knees up to her chest. I grabbed the blanket we kept there for her and draped it over her shoulders, sitting next to her, "You know you can tell me anything, right? And you can tell Luke anything if you don't feel like you can talk to me."

She thought for a moment, "I know."

Luke came in at that moment with a burger. Rory went to stand up, probably to sit at the table as Luke preferred, but he stopped her, "I'll let you eat there this time."

"Thanks, Luke," She said sadly. Once she started eating, he beckoned for me to join him in the kitchen.

"Has he ever been violent before?" Luke asked quietly, and it was my turn to hesitate.

"Not with Rory, once with me," I admitted, "He hit me in the stomach once, the day before I found out I was pregnant with Rory. It's partially why I turned down his marriage proposal, not that I'll admit it to anyone else."

He wrapped me up in his arms, not saying anything. I fought back my tears, wanting to focus on Rory rather than myself, "I can't believe he'd do that to his own kid, though."

"Can you terminate his parental rights? Is that something you can do?"

I shrugged, "I don't know."

"Mom?"

I looked over to her, and she had finished her food. I re-joined her on the couch where she snuggled into my arms, and Luke took her plate from her before kneeling in front of her.

"Rory, did your dad do this to you?" I asked softly, rubbing her unbruised arm. She looked up and away from us, blinking a few times as tears slipped down her face.

Her silence was telling, and Luke put his hand over hers, trying to comfort her, "What did he do?"

"He was pleased to see me at first, but the moment he realised I wasn't there to give him that money he asked for... He yelled a bit and then took my arm and threw me out of the building."

I looked away from Rory and at Luke – his jaw was tight, and I could see how angry he was. He moved to sit on Rory's other side, wrapping his own arm around her. She buried her head into his shoulder as large sobs wracked her body.

I had seen her cry many times after Christopher stood her up or failed to care, but I had never seen her this hurt. I noticed that both of her hands were grazed, and her clothes were dirty, likely from literally being thrown away like a piece of rubbish. There was a large rip in the side of her top, showing more bruises and a friction burn, by the looks of it.

The fact that she trusted Luke enough to call him when something was wrong had warmed my heart a little earlier, and despite the circumstances, I wanted to smile at the fact she was comfortable enough with him to cry on him, even though I was here and an option.

* * *

"I need to check on her hourly, she doesn't know if she hit her head and I don't want to risk it," I told Luke after putting Rory to bed. He had driven us home after the dinner rush and had promised Rory we'd both be there in the morning, so he was staying again.

"It's been a long day, do you want to set an alarm, just in case we fall asleep?" He asked, his eyes already closed.

I sighed, joining him on the couch for a cuddle, "When it comes to things like this, I can't sleep. I can't do it. Last year, she had the flu, and I didn't sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time for 3 days because I couldn't get control of her fever and was checking it hourly. And that's not an exaggeration, it's a parent thing."

"Why didn't you take her to the hospital?" He asked, concerned.

I laughed, "The fever has to be higher than 104 degrees or it has to last longer than 5 days for it to be a concern. It was between 101 and 103 the whole time, so it wasn't quite dangerous, but dangerous enough for me to be concerned. This is the same, so I won't be sleeping much."

"Do you want me to make a pot of coffee?" He offered and my heart fluttered.

"Somebody knows the way to my heart," I said with a wink, and he laughed. He leant forward and gave me a kiss before getting up to put the coffee on. As he did that, I picked out a film for us to watch, knowing that it would help me stay awake; not being able to sleep doesn't stop me from getting sleepy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think. And I've started posting a new story every Friday, so go and check out 'My Saving Grace' - it is M rated and has a bunch of trigger warnings, but it's good (in my not-so-humble opinion). Thanks!


	11. Chapter 11

"911, what's your emergency?"

"My step-daughter won't wake up. She hit her head yesterday, and we were waking her hourly, but now she won't wake up."

The lie was Lorelai's idea, shouted out between pleads for Rory to wake up. The operator instantly jumped into action, asking me a multitude of questions. I rattled off the answers, being grateful that I had known the girls for years and knew way more personal information than the average person in Stars Hollow.

"The ambulance will be with you shortly, please unlock the front door to save time."

I numbly unlocked the front door, opening it slightly. Within moments, I could hear the sirens, so I hung up, not knowing what else to do. The next few minutes dragged on, especially as several neighbours stepped outside, trying to figure out what was happening. I ignored them, waiting to see the ambulance.

It pulled into the driveway, 2 people hopping out and rushing to get out their things. I led them through to Rory's room, pulling Lorelai out of the way, "Let them work."

They peppered us with questions as they worked, loading her up onto the stretcher and rushing her out into the ambulance.

"We're really sorry, but neither of you can come in the ambulance due to the situation, we're taking her to Hartford General."

They sped off, and Lorelai headed straight for my truck, not even grabbing her shoes or a jacket to cover her pyjamas. I grabbed our shoes since we were barefooted and locked the front door behind me. I pulled on my own shoes as I rushed to the truck, passing over her shoes as we got in.

The drive passed by in a blur, my heart hammering in my chest the entire time. I hadn't been to the hospital since my father had died, and I felt a bit sick about going in, but Rory needed us. Both of us.

We rushed up to the desk, Lorelai practically shouting, "We're looking for Lorelai Gilmore."

"Are you related?" The receptionist asked.

"I'm her mother, he's her step-father," She lied without hesitation. We were sent through to a waiting room, told that the doctor would be out shortly and given forms to fill out.

"Are you Lorelai Gilmore's parents?" The doctor asked, walking up to us. We were the only people in the room, but we nodded, standing up.

"I'm Dr Peyton, I've been working on your daughter. We're managed to bring her around by she's very unfocused, so we're about to take her to CT, but you can see her for a moment."

"Please," Both me and Lorelai said it at the same time as she slipped her hand into mine.

We followed the doctor down the hall and into a room where Rory lay. She looked tiny in the bed, and she was staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey baby," Lorelai said softly, perching on the bed, "How you feeling?"

She was silent for a long minute, thinking. Eventually, she said, "I don't feel well."

"The doctor needs to take you for a scan, but it'll be over soon, and then they can start fixing you," Lorelai explained, worry creeping into her voice. I squeezed her shoulder, unsure of what to say.

"We need to take her now, but we'll come and get you when we know more."

We took ourselves back to the waiting area, but as we sat down, someone approached up, "Mr and Mrs Gilmore?"

"We've just sat down," Lorelai whined, "What do you need?"

"I'm from Child Protective Services, could you walk me through what happened with your daughter?"

The colour drained from Lorelai's face, and I could see that her mind had gone completely blank, so I stepped in, introducing myself as her step-father.

"Yesterday, Rory went to visit her biological father. She did so without our permission, and we spent several hours trying to figure out where she had gone after her school contacted Lorelai. At about 2pm, Rory called me and asked for me to come and get her. She didn't share details at the time, but when I arrived in Boston, she had a split lip and a rather large graze on her cheek and chin. She told me she tripped. When we got home, she revealed that her father had gotten angry that she didn't have any money for him, and thrown her out of his place and onto the pavement. She was unsure whether she had hit her head, so we decided to let her sleep and check on her hourly to be safe. At about 2am, she vomited twice, and we started waking her more regularly at that point. At half 3, we were unable to wake her. After that, I'm not sure what happened as the paramedics and doctors took over."

The social worker wrote everything down as I spoke, not indicating whether she believed me, "Has he ever physically harmed her before?"

I looked at Lorelai, who shook her head, "Not that I'm aware of, and he doesn't see her very often either, through his own choice. I tried to cut all contact a few months ago as he would constantly make plans and he'd never show. She was starting to question his love for her, and whether he cared, so I decided enough was enough... I should have done it sooner, and I should have changed phone numbers so he couldn't leave messages, and I should have..."

"Stop," I said firmly, "Christopher made his choice, you didn't force him to hurt her. Even if he was angry, he should have called you or brought her home himself. There is no excuse for what he did. Ever."

I wasn't just saying it for Lorelai's benefit. Things I could have done to prevent this had been running through my head since I'd picked her up, and while I hadn't told Lorelai, saying that it wasn't her fault also meant it wasn't mine.

"I assume she has been walking to school alone. When did that start?" The social worker asked.

"At the beginning of the school year, so she was about to turn 10. It was a little early, but a lot of the kids were walking to school alone, and it felt safe to do so."

"That's the average age, it's not something that I'd be concerned about unless you were living in a dangerous area or it was a long-distance to school," The social worker said, writing down what Lorelai had said, "So I know you said that her father had never been violent to her before, but does he have a history of violence?"

Lorelai hesitated, "He hit me once when we were 15, but that's all that I know of. However, we haven't been in a great deal of contact since we were 15, and there could be a history that I'm unaware of."

"I don't think there's a problem here, but there will be a few random visits to your home to ensure it's a safe environment as that's the protocol. I will also be putting in a recommendation that his parental rights will be revoked as if something were to happen to her and you were unavailable, it would be him they'd have to legally call first, which isn't safe."

I nodded, but Lorelai looked confused, "Don't you have to speak to Rory first? We could be making this up."

I glared at Lorelai, but the social worker laughed, "I had already briefly spoken to Rory before coming in here. When I asked her what happened, she just said 'Christopher', who I now know is neither of you. While I do need a full statement from Rory, that will wait until she is feeling better."

The social worker left us at that point, and I got up to stretch my legs, "Do you want a coffee?"

Lorelai nodded, "Yeah. I'm gonna call Mia to tell her that I'm not coming in today."

"Mr and Mrs Gilmore?" Dr Payton asked as he stepped into the room, and Lorelai sighed, "We have the results of Rory's CT scan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: If I'm being honest, I thought I was done hurting Rory for the time being, but apparently not. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please let me know what you thought.


	12. Chapter 12

"Rory has something called a subdural haematoma," The doctor explained, "This is when blood collects between the brain and the skull, and we need to do surgery to remove the blood."

She's never had surgery before, I thought, holding on tightly to Luke's hands. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to steady myself, and then said, "How long will she take to recover?"

"Every person is different, and we never know. If there are no complications, she should be fully healed within 3 months, but it could be as little as 4 weeks," He said kindly, but my mind was stuck on one small portion of his sentence.

'If there are no complications...'

The man continued talking, despite my distraction. He was discussing the possible complications of the surgery, and then he was handing me consent forms. My heart was hammering in my chest, my stomach threatening to empty itself. I looked up at Luke, who was looking at the sheets like they were bombs about to go off.

"What happens if she doesn't have the surgery?" I asked, wanting to know.

The doctor hesitated before telling me.

"She'll die."

* * *

After signing the forms, we were allowed through to see her for a minute. I wrapped my arms around her, breathing in her scent and trying to memorise everything about her, "You need a surgery, but the doctor is going to make you better. They need to prep you, and then we'll come and see you one last time before you go. Okay? I love you so much."

I stepped back out into the hallway and collapsed into Luke's arms, my heart breaking. His arms wrapped tightly around me as I cried, my whole body feeling weak. After a few moments, I pulled back, wiping my eyes. I then realised that Luke had been crying too, his eyes probably just as puffy as mine were.

"I need..." I stopped, wetting my lips before trying again, "I need to call Mia to get some time off, and I need to get someone to grab a bag for Rory because we can't leave, and I probably should call my parents, and you have the diner to deal with, and, and,"

I was starting to hyperventilate, panic setting in. Luke rested his forehead against mine, "Focus on my breathing."

After a few minutes of focusing on Luke, the panic attack started to subside. I felt no less scared, but I was able to control my breathing and able to focus on what mattered.

"Once she goes in for surgery, we can start making phone calls and sorting what we need. But until then, we wait," Luke murmured, leading me to a couple of chairs across from her room.

I rested my head on his shoulder, "Thank you for being here."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," He murmured, kissing my head.

Two doctors rolled Rory's bed out at that moment, and I stood up. Luke went around the other side and took her hand in his, wanting to take anything he could get.

"Mommy, I'm scared," She said quietly, looking at me with big eyes.

"I know, sweetie, and I am too, but you know what? You're going to be okay."

We stopped at 2 large double doors, and I knew it was time for us to go, so I bent down and kissed her forehead, "I love you so much, and I'll see you when you're out. Okay?"

She nodded, and it was Luke's turn, "We'll be here waiting when you get out. I love you, okay, more than you know."

The last part was said quietly, but I still heard it. Luke kissed her forehead, much like I had, and he smiled at her.

"I love you too," She murmured. His smile almost doubled in size since it was the first time that she had said that to him, but I think the situation weighed that down a bit. As they took her away, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him softly, wanting to feel his touch. And then I pulled away, already getting out my mobile.

* * *

By the time me and Luke had finished with our phone calls, Sookie had arrived with a large bag. I wrapped my arms around her, "You're a life-saver."

She smiled, "I know. How was she before they went in?"

"Slow," I responded honestly, "She was groggy, unfocused and slow to respond to anything. She's really not well."

"Please give her my love, and call me if any of you need anything," She said, even nodding at Luke, "I have to run, Mia said I could start late, but I've still got to drive back. Call me when she's out of surgery, and I'll get the message out."

"Thanks, Sook."

She nodded, squeezing my hand before dashing off. I reached into the bag and pulled out Colonel Clucker, breathing in Rory's scent.

"Lorelai!" I heard her call, and I stood up immediately. Mom.

I didn't really want to call her, but they deserved to know, "Hi, Mom. Are you okay?"

"Did you get to see her before she went in? Was she okay? What drugs were they giving her? And who is he?"

"I saw her before she went in, she was scared, I don't know what exact drugs, and he is Luke. Luke, this is my mother, Emily Gilmore," I introduced, slipping my hand into Luke's, "Did Dad tell you that he ran into us the other week?"

"Yes, but what about Rory?" She asked like she had a specific point.

I inwardly sighed, "Luke has known Rory since she was five years old. He has been there for everything Christopher should have been there for, and more. I've avoided dating him for years because I didn't want to affect Rory, but we gave in. Rory is my first priority, but this relationship has been good for her, too."

She made a sound, and went and sat down in the furthest chair away from me, sulking. As she sat down, my father appeared. He immediately gave me a hug in a way he hadn't since I was small, and then greeted Luke politely.

"Do you know what the surgery was called? Because I have a few friends in the medical field and they could give us some statistics," He offered, clearly wanting to be of help.

"It was a craniotomy, but I don't want to hear the statistics. I'm afraid it'll only make me feel worse," I admitted and Luke agreed.

"I feel sick enough as it is, I don't need statistics."

Dad looked at us for a moment, "How long have you been here?"

I looked at the time. 9 am. I sighed, "It's been about 5 hours since we arrived but I've been awake for 24."

"Why didn't you phone us when you arrived?" My mother demanded to know.

"I didn't know what was going on and didn't want to disturb you for nothing. I wasn't here alone, Luke was here the entire time, and once we knew what was happening, we started contacting the people who needed to know, including you."

"And how come Luke isn't at work? I'm fairly certain a boss wouldn't accept him taking a day off for his girlfriend's daughter."

_And she's on a roll._

"I'm sat right here," He snapped unintentionally. He took a deep breath and started again, "I apologise for snapping, I've been up just as long as Lorelai has and I'm exhausted. To answer your question, I own my own business and can therefore take time off whenever I would like. Rory is very important to me, and taking time off for her or Lorelai is not an issue for me, nor will it ever be."

My mother nodded, effectively shut up by Luke. I stood up and headed for the coffee machine, with Luke following for some reason.

"I know you said your mother was hard work, but..."

I snorted, "If it helps, she's not any easier on me. Rory, yes, and she thinks the sun shines out of Christopher's arse, but she doesn't like me very much."

"It doesn't help, but thanks. And I'm proud of you; I know you didn't want to call them but you did it for Rory."

"I'm not quite sure why. I think it's because she has just lost Christopher for good so I want her to have my parents instead, even though they're not that much better. They're there for her, but only as long as she's doing exactly what they want."

I sighed. I drained the coffee and chucked the cup immediately, re-joining my parents as the surgeon came out and called Rory's name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: If this is not medically accurate, I apologise, but I'm not a doctor. Just go with it. And let me know what you thought.


	13. Chapter 13

"Rory is being moved to the paediatric ICU as we speak, would you like to see her?" The doctor finished saying, and I could feel some of the tension leaving my body.

"Yes," Both me and Lorelai said at the same time.

"Only two of you can go in at a time, but I'll drop whoever doesn't go in off in the waiting room," He explained as we walked, and I nodded, prepared to wait if I had to.

"Mom, Dad, do you mind waiting?" Lorelai asked, and I turned to her, shocked; while I wanted to sit by her bed and never leave, I was expecting her to prioritise her parents over her boyfriend.

Emily started to protest, but Richard smiled kindly at us, "Of course not. You two go ahead."

Lorelai chuckled when she noticed how shocked I looked, "You've been playing dad to her for 5 years, and today has proved how much you care about her. You deserve to be treated as such and therefore, you get first dibs... after me, of course."

Emily and Richard sat down in the waiting room, and we continued. That was when the doctor spoke up, "She is still unconscious and is connected to a lot of machines, but don't be alarmed; it's perfectly normal after this type of surgery. There's also quite a bit of facial swelling and bruising, which is perfectly normal. Due to the anaesthetic, she is unable to breathe on her own, but as the drugs wear off, her breathing should return."

Lorelai looked terrified, so I took her hand in mine, gently squeezing it. She smiled gratefully at me, but she still looked nervous. And then we entered the room.

Her head was wrapped in a large bandage and she had a tube coming out of her mouth. Her eyes looked swollen shut, and if I didn't know any better, someone had punched her in the face. She had various wires attached to her, and I could barely see her body through it all. My throat dried up, and the fear returned. Lorelai sat in the nearest chair, taking her hand. I walked around her bad, and sat down in the other chair, taking her other hand into mine.

"Hey baby," Lorelai murmured, getting as close as possible, "The doctors said you did good, no complications. I'm right here and I'm not leaving your side. Please wake up baby, you need to wake up for me."

Lorelai trailed off, tears streaming down her face. She swallowed a few times, unable to speak for a moment, and then she did, "He's going to pay for this."

I nodded in agreement. Seeing her like this had changed my perspective on the situation and I wanted Christopher behind bars and away from Rory. I knew that we couldn't protect her from everything, but I wanted to protect her from him.

"Hey Rory, it's Luke," I started, wanting to say something, "You scared me, kid... I've never been more scared in my life. Even when my parents died, I wasn't this scared, and I think if your mom doesn't lock you away, I might."

Lorelai laughed, "You're not supposed to give me ideas."

"I love you so much, and have done for years. I didn't like kids until I met you, and I'm still not a big fan, but you're my kid," I looked down at our hands, blushing slightly, "And I'm not generally a big softie but that's what you do to me. I might not be your official father, but I'm staying right here."

Her fingers tightened slightly around mine, and I looked up, hoping that her eyes were open. They weren't.

"Rory, can you hear me?" I asked, shifting in my seat, edging closer to her. Lorelai looked at me curiously, so I explained what had just happened, and her fingers tightened again.

"We're right here, baby," Lorelai murmured, running her thumb over Rory's cheek, "Open your eyes for us."

Her breathing changed and the machines started beeping, causing doctors to rush in and for them to rush us out, being told to wait in the waiting room.

"Can we see her yet?" Emily asked as we walked in.

Lorelai was busy trying to figure out what was going on, so I explained, "No, we were just rushed out. And no, we have no idea what's happening."

She joined Lorelai, trying to peer into the room. We could see people in and out of it, but we couldn't tell what was happening. I wrapped my arm around Lorelai's shoulder and kissed her head, "She's going to be okay. She has to be okay."

* * *

"Your daughter is awake. She is groggy, but she's breathing on her own. She's asking for her mom and Luke," The doctor said, "However, now she's awake, she can have up to 4 visitors if you keep your voices down."

Lorelai was off before the doctor had finished talking, and I was close behind. I didn't check to see if Emily and Richard were following, but I assumed so since I could hear heels on the floor.

"Rory!" Lorelai half called, rushing into the room. Rory smiled slightly, visibly relaxing.

We retook our seats, both of us holding a hand each. Richard and Emily hovered in the doorway with horrified looks on their faces, which was fair enough given that she had two black eyes and had severe swelling.

Rory slowly turned her head to look at me and said slowly, "Was I dreaming?"

I rose my eyebrows at her, "You'll have to be more specific than that."

She wet her lips with her tongue, "You said you wished I was your kid."

The more she spoke, the sicker she sounded. Her voice was croaky from the tube and combined with how groggy she was, it made her sound awful.

"That's the basic gist of it," I said softly, my heart jumping because she heard and also because I was now scared that she didn't feel the same way.

She turned her head to look at the ceiling, "I wish I was your kid, too."

The smile hurt because it was so big, "We'll talk about this more when you're better. How do you feel?"

I took note of the fact Emily was looking curiously at me, almost like she was trying to figure out my motive. I ignored her in favour of listening to Rory, "My head hurts and my arms are really heavy... Mommy, can you pass me the water?"

Lorelai took the cup from the table and held it up to Rory's mouth, letting her drink from the straw. She drank greedily, and then looked at her grandparents, "I'm sorry you had to come here."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. We are your grandparents and will be there any time you want us," Richard said, and he clearly meant it, "We just wish we saw more of you."

Lorelai bit her lip for a moment, the guilt evident on her face, "Well maybe we could start doing monthly dinners or something. Just so you can get to know Rory; she deserves her grandparents."

She didn't want to do it, but she had mentioned it a few times. While she didn't care much for her parents, she did want Rory to have a relationship with them as long as it didn't harm her.

Emily's eyes lit up, "We'd love that, but of course we'll wait until Rory is better. And Luke, you're invited, too."

_Crap._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I wouldn't call any of these chapters medically accurate, I'm just making this up as I go. I also want to add in that I have officially finished writing this story (but not publishing) and I am already working on the sequel, which I'm hoping to have finished by the time I finish uploading this story, which will take 11 weeks as we've got 11 chapters to go. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and let me know what you thought.


	14. Chapter 14

It was ten days after the operation when Rory was allowed home. I went ahead to sort the house out, and Luke drove her home, carrying her into the house.

She could walk short distances before getting fatigued, but the stairs were an issue. The instructions were to rest as much as needed, to walk as much as she could and to stay off school. We were also told to stop her from reading or watching TV for more than 20 minutes at a time, and that she's to be kept a close eye on.

Luke had been there as much as he could. Unfortunately, since he was not her parent or legal guardian, he couldn't stay overnight like I could, but he was there as much as he was allowed. He would bring food for me to eat, with clean clothes and things for Rory. I could tell that it broke his heart to leave each evening, wanting to be there as often as I was.

However, his visits during the day meant I could come home for a shower and a nap in my own bed. My parents had been there daily, and Sookie had visited a few times, baring gifts from almost everyone in Stars Hollow.

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't there before the hospital," Rory said, staring at something I hadn't seen yet – she had gone straight to sleep when she got in and had just woken up. I walked into her room and spotted what she was talking about.

It was a beautiful desk with a matching mirror and chair. It also had attached shelves above the mirror. The wood was dark, but with painted flowers creeping up the legs of both the desk and chair. It had a brand-new set of stationary laid out the same way Rory would do it, and a new composition book ready for use. It was perfect, everything Rory had always wanted in a desk.

"Do you like it?" Luke questioned, startling me. I realised then where it had come from; it was one of the things on Rory's list. Christopher had promised to buy Rory a desk and bookcase once, and since she had described her perfect desk to me, Luke and to anyone who would listen hundreds of times, he had made one for her.

"I love it!" Rory exclaimed, climbing out of bed. She wobbled a little as she walked, but stabilised herself. She wrapped her arms around Luke, "Thank you."

* * *

After Rory had gone to bed that night, I curled with Luke on the sofa, watching some mind-numbing TV.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Luke asked, and a pit of dread formed in my stomach.

"What's up?"

Luke hesitated, "I think I overstepped when I told Rory how I felt about her. You haven't mentioned it, and I know I should have spoken to you first, but I was so scared that..."

I kissed him to shut him up; he could give me a run for my money when he goes off on one, and I didn't have the energy to deal with that, "While I do wish you had spoken to me first and timed it a little bit better, I don't mind. You are her dad. Not biologically speaking, but who was there when she had chicken pox and all she would eat was mashed potato? Who taught her how to ride a bike? And who sat next to me at the Christmas play, even though she only had one line? And who just built her dream desk?"

"So, it's okay?" He asked, really hesitant.

I smiled at him, "It's more than okay, but you might want to work on your timing. Once Rory's a bit better, you two need to talk about it, but wait until she can continue a full conversation without getting tired."

He laughed, "I can't believe she fell asleep halfway through dinner."

"It was a good dinner, too. Her first meal in a week that wasn't hospital food," I shook my head, smiling to myself. I then frowned, "What's the plan for tomorrow? I need to go back to work, and you need to reopen the diner, so..."

"I'm going to go into the diner early and set up a corner for Rory. She's going to rest in the diner so she'll never be out of my sight, and that means you don't have to worry either. I'm also going to give her my cap so she can hide her head as I know she's really embarrassed about it. It also means people will get to see her, hopefully without overwhelming her," He stopped for a moment, blushing, "I brought a baby monitor for if she wants to nap so I know if she needs anything, and I'll be going up every 10 minutes to make sure she's okay. I've thought this through, I swear."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "You brought a baby monitor?"

He ducked his head, "I went out of town so people didn't get the wrong impression, but I thought it would be best, especially since you dug your old one out for at home. She has to be able to alert me if something is wrong, and that was my solution."

"Thank you, you didn't have to do any of this," I said, climbing onto his lap and resting my head against his forehead, "Thank you for everything. Really."

He kissed me softly, "Thank you for letting me do this. Being like a parent to Rory... It's not a privilege I ever knew I wanted to have, but I am so grateful to have that privilege and I will do anything to keep it."

I kissed him, hard. Hearing him talk like that about Rory was a turn on in a very weird way; not because my child is a turn on but because how much he loves and cares about her is a turn on. I stood up and pulled him with me, leading him upstairs for a bit of relief.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I haven't mentioned Christopher in a while as the focus has been on Rory. We get to find out what's going on with that at the end of the next chapter (although I now need to do some editing because I messed up somewhere) so something does happen. Emily and Richard also find out what really happened a few chapters later, but right now, we're focusing on Rory and her recovery. It has not been dropped, I promise you that.

I watched from the diner as Lorelai helped Rory get out, and then supported her as they walked in. She was steady but unsteady at the same time, and she still looked rather unsure of herself. When they entered, Lorelai spotted Rory's corner immediately, given that I had brought down the rocking chair from my apartment (something that had been there when my dad used it as an office), I had placed a few cushions to make her more comfortable, and I had gotten a few activities for her to do. While she was 10 and wasn't too interested in colouring anymore, it was among the recommended activities, so I had given her a few colouring books and a couple of basic puzzle books that I knew she'd enjoy.

I helped Lorelai get her settled, and I placed my hat on her head, having forgotten to leave it at home for Rory. Lorelai kissed her goodbye, thanked me again for doing this, and was off, not wanting to be late.

It wasn't long before Lane came in, wanting to see Rory briefly before school. They hugged and talked for a little while, and Rory had a big smile on her face when Lane left 10 minutes later. She watched out the window for a while, and I remembered she enjoyed people watching, finding it creative as she imagined conversations and scenarios.

"Luke, can I have some pancakes?" She piped up after half-an-hour of people watching, and I thought for the moment.

"Only if I give you berries and plain yoghurt on the side rather than syrup and chocolate chips. It's important that you eat healthily right now," I told her softly, and she nodded.

I didn't just change what she had with the pancakes, but I changed how I made the pancakes, using whole grain flour and semi-skimmed milk instead of plain flour and full-fat milk. The yoghurt was also low-fat, and I was hoping that the healthy meals I was feeding her currently might stick; not fully, but I wanted her to be as healthy as possible so she'd live a long life.

When she started eating, she peered at the pancakes with a wrinkled brow, knowing it tasted different. She was definitely confused, but continued eating anyway, clearly enjoying the meal. As she finished, Babette and Miss Patty came in, clearly looking for her. Miss Patty aimed for me while Babette aimed for her, wanting their different questions answered.

"How is she?" Miss Patty asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"She had brain surgery, so she feels like crap. What would you expect?" I grouched. I had answered that question daily for almost two weeks, and I was tired of it, "I'm sorry, Patty, I'm not doing very well with it. She's getting better, but its a very slow process. It could take as long as three months for her to be fully recovered and it's a long row ahead for us. She will be fine eventually, and that's all that matters.

She smiled at me, "I assume the hat is to hide the scar? It's weird seeing her with a hat and you without one."

I laughed, "It's a bit weird for me too, but she requested it and I couldn't say no."

We looked over at Babette and Rory, with the former talking animatedly and Rory barely focused. She had gone pale again and needed to sleep.

"Excuse me," I said to Patty, and I walked over to them, "Hey Babette, I know you two are talking but I think Rory needs to rest a bit. I'm going to take her up."

Rory looked at me, her face blank. She raised her arms, knowing I'd have to carry her, and I picked her up, easily making my way up the steep stairs and into the apartment. I had already pulled the covers back this morning so I could immediately lay her down with no fuss. Her eyes were already closed when I let go, so I covered her up and turned on the baby monitor, just in case. I crouched down and kissed her forehead, "If you need me, call me. No matter what it is."

Rory nodded, snuggling down in the bed, "Thanks, Dad."

* * *

Luckily, Rory slept through the lunch rush, which meant she missed the interrogation I received from Kirk about brain surgery; that experience would have only stressed her out if she didn't know the answers and she doesn't need that.

My phone rang shortly after the lunch rush finished, and I answered to a nervous Lorelai asking for an update.

"She's fine, she's had a 2-hour long nap, I'm about to go up and wake her," I paused, not knowing if I wanted to tell her, "She called me Dad earlier."

"That's great! Or I think it's great... I don't know, but I like the idea of that if you do," She laughed, "Alright, I have to get back to work, but I wanted to check on Rory. Love you."

"I love you, too," I said before hanging up.

I smiled to myself and headed back upstairs. I found her sat up on the edge of the bed, looking exhausted. Granted, the lingering bruises around her eyes weren't helping, but she looked tired, "Hey kid, how do you feel?"

She looked at me, "I hate this. I can barely get up to get a cup of water, and my head is killing me and everyone keeps looking at me with pity. I know they're not sure how to act around the girl who just had brain surgery, but come on! I want my body to function properly because I know it can, I want my head to stop hurting, I want to have a proper conversation without getting tired, I want to stop looking sick so they forget this ever happened, I want..."

The method I'd usually use with her mother wouldn't be appropriate here, partially because this is my girlfriend's daughter and partially because this is a child, _my_ child, so I settled for letting her rant until she ran out of steam, which didn't take long.

"Feel better?" I asked, and she nodded, looking a little surprised. I smiled, "Okay, let's get you downstairs and back in your chair."

As I picked her up, she rested her head on my shoulder, "Thanks, Dad."

I quickly got her settled in her chair and helped to distract annoying visitors, mainly Kirk. Taylor did stop for a visit but said all of 4 words to her before leaving, so I didn't need to help there. Mia stopped in for a visit, sitting with Rory and helping her with the puzzle she was working on. Mr James, the teacher who told Lorelai that Rory was missing also stopped in to drop off a big card from the class, and several classmates said hello but left fairly quickly. When I brought her a very late lunch, I helped cut it into pieces for her, knowing she had been struggling with a knife earlier, before leaving her to eat in peace.

I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she slowly ate, her hand shaking from the effort it took. She gave up at the halfway mark and sat back in her chair, closing her eyes as she did.

"I've never seen Rory not finish a meal before."

I turned around and looked at Taylor, who was apparently back. His eyes were fixed on Rory, shocked that there was food still on her plate. It wasn't the first time for me, but it was still a shock to me given that the first time had been less than a week ago when she had her first solid meal since before the operation.

"She's eating a bit more every day," I admitted, ignoring my hatred of Taylor for the moment. I made my way over to Rory, kneeling down, "Is that all you can manage today?"

She nodded sadly, "I'm sorry for wasting food."

"It's okay," I said, making her look at me, "You're recovering from brain surgery. As long as you're eating healthily, something is better than nothing. Want me to put it away for tomorrows lunch?"

"Yeah," She said, "It tasted really good."

"I'm glad," I stood up and headed into the kitchen to put away her lunch, writing a small note for Caesar to leave it alone. I then resumed working, hoping Lorelai would be finished soon so Rory could go home and sleep in her own bed. She had her eyes closed and was dozing, opening her eyes every time someone walked by.

I saw Lorelai's car pull up. She walked in, and quietly greeted me with a kiss, "How has she been?"

"Pretty good, all things considered," I said, looking at her as she turned her head and the hat slipped off her head, landing on the floor with a very quiet thump. Her new scar was on display for the whole town to see, along with the patch the doctors had shaved about a centimetre each side of the scar.

"Oh my god," I heard several gasps, reminding me that everyone had been watching her all day, even if they were keeping their distance.

I quickly walked over to her and picked up the hat, resting it on her head. She opened her eyes and looked up at me. I smiled at her, "Your mom is here, ready to go home?"

She nodded and held her hands out. I grabbed them, allowing her to stand with a bit of support. She wobbled a little but fixed it herself. Lorelai came forward, taking her from me, "See you at home?"

I nodded, kissing her cheek, "See you later."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I really enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you did too. Let me know what you thought.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hello?" I asked as I picked up the phone.

"Lorelai?" My mother asked, and I inwardly sighed. We had exchanged numbers when I last saw her at the hospital, but I hadn't expected her to use it, "How is Rory?"

"She's doing as well as can be expected," I said, "We've just got home from her follow-up appointment, and they're happy with how things are progressing. If things keep going this way, she could be back at school by the end of the month, but only if she doesn't push herself too far."

"Hmm," She said, thinking for a moment, "I'd like to talk to you about that man of yours."

 _Crap_.

"I'm not sure what there is to talk about," I started, but she cut me off.

"He looks at Rory the same way your father used to look at you, and he looks at you how your father looks at me... I always wanted that for you. I wanted it to be Christopher, I won't deny it, but I always wanted that for you girls. I know you said the relationship is fairly new, but don't mess it up."

I looked at the phone, baffled, and then put it back to my ear, "Thank you."

"Now when do you think Rory will be well enough to do those monthly dinners we discussed?"

I thought for a minute, already dreading it, "Just before she goes back to school? The doctor said that school will appear to cause a setback in her recovery so it might be iffy after that, but if we do one before she goes to school, then you would have seen her at least once."

"That sounds just fine. If you give me a date nearer the time, as you don't have as much information as I'd like, and we'll have dinner. And Lorelai?"

"Yes, Mom?"

"Thank you for letting us back into your lives."

"You're welcome, Mom."

* * *

I held Rory's hands as we practised the steps again. She had finally mastered walking up them, but going down was still an issue. This time, she managed it down two steps before stumbling, and I ended up catching her.

I sat her down on the top step and sat down with her, "It's okay that this is hard. It's perfectly normal."

"But I'm too heavy for you to carry and I've got to be too heavy for Luke," She cried, burying her head in her hands.

At the moment, she was bouncing between using Luke's name and calling him 'Dad'. If she was indoors and it was just us three, he was 'Dad', but if we were outdoors or anyone else was around, he was 'Luke'.

"Sweetheart, if Luke had a problem with carrying you, we would have found an alternative. Since when does Luke do things he doesn't want to do?" I pointed out, lifting her head with my hand, "And anyway, I don't work out, and Luke does. Carrying you is not a big deal. Honestly."

I couldn't tell whether I was lying or not, but I needed her to believe me. I needed her to know that it wasn't a problem and that she wasn't a burden.

She nodded, but looked unsure, "I've cost you so much money, and you can't work properly, and I'm causing so many problems. Why can't I just do this? It would make it easier for everyone."

I kissed her forehead, "This is not your fault. This is your father's fault, and he is the one who should pay. He _will_ pay for what he did to you, and we are not mad at you for any of this."

"But I went to see him," She said in a tiny voice.

My heart broke for her, and I echoed what Luke had told me when this all happened, "But you didn't make him throw you around. He should have called me or brought you home himself, but there is no excuse for what he did to you."

Rory looked up at me tearfully, stunned. She clearly hadn't expected that, nor had she thought about it in that way, "Promise?"

"I promise," I said, wiping her tears away with my thumb, "Come on, let's get you inside."

As we stood up, Luke walked up the driveway with a bag in his hand, "I brought you dinner."

I inwardly groaned; he had been pushing the healthy food on us, which was fair enough since Rory was recovering from surgery, but I was really struggling with it. I've never been a real fan of healthy food, and while I was more than happy to eat it so Rory would, it didn't make it easy.

"What've you got?" Rory asked, pulling herself up. She was getting better at doing it on her own, her balance steadily improving.

"Spiced lentil and butternut squash soup," He said carefully, knowing he could scare us off at any time, "Lentils are really good for iron and protein, which is necessary after surgery, and butternut squash has lots of essential vitamins and minerals, mostly vitamin A and C."

Because she wasn't in school, Luke had been teaching her about the importance of healthy eating and about what vitamins and minerals do what and then quizzing her on it. It started accidentally as he encouraged her to eat better, but had become a thing for them.

Rory thought for the moment as we made our way into the house.

"Vitamin A is good for cell growth, bone health, and immune function, and vitamin C is good for immune function, wound healing, and tissue repair. These vitamins are the ones you're mostly shoving down my throat because of the operation."

He nodded, "But you should be eating them anyway; you're a growing child so these are super important."

She rolled her eyes, "I know. Once I'm better, I might try to stick with the healthy eating, but I don't know; I think I miss burgers."

I miss burgers, too, I thought as the phone rang yet again. I left the two to continue their discussion and answered the phone myself, "This is a collect call from Boston County Jail If you would like to accept this call, please press one now."

I pressed the button with shaky hands, my mouth suddenly dry. I knew they were planning on arresting him once they had the warrant, but...

"Hey Lor," He said softly, "I'm not going to ask you to bail me out of prison. They told me that I put my little girl in hospital, and I can't... I can't live with that. I'm going to plead guilty and whatever happens, happens. I just wanted you to know."

"Okay," I said, unable to say anything else. I didn't know what to say or how to feel. I put down the phone and turned to Luke and Rory, who were looking at me funny, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Christopher was arrested today."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So, I have just written Chapter 16 of the sequel which is a nice little coincidence that I'm publishing Chapter 16 of this one. I still don't have a name for the sequel yet, but I've got 8 weeks to go until I need to worry. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review.


	17. Chapter 17

I looked at Rory, worried about her reaction. She looked down at the table for a second, and then up at me, "Good."

I wasn't sure that was how she really felt about it, and by the look on Lorelai's face, I wasn't the only one.

I finished dishing up the soup, actually looking forward to it, and we tucked in. It was something that my mom made for me whenever I was sick, but it had taken until now for me to perfect the recipe and get it just right.

While the idea of healthy food tasting good was no longer surprising to Rory, Lorelai stared at her bowl, confused, "It tastes good."

I nodded, "It should."

"But healthy food isn't supposed to taste good," She said, bringing another spoonful to her mouth. I chuckled.

"Well-made healthy food is supposed to taste good. You clearly haven't had good experiences with it."

She scowled at her bowl, unhappy that she had found a healthy meal that she liked.

* * *

I took Rory with me to the diner that morning so Lorelai didn't have to drop her off before work. I held her hands as she walked into the diner, managing the walk and the single step on her own without a single wobble.

Her doctor was now allowing her to read and do some schoolwork with regular breaks, so I set her up with everything she needed on the table and chair next to her; she had excitedly brought her new stationery and was looking forward to using it. According to her, it had been staring at her mockingly for 2 weeks.

She was getting closer to her original self, but I knew she would be forever changed from her experience. Her energy levels were slowly rising, and she was looking better. She still wore my brown cap every day to avoid people seeing the scar, but I didn't mind. Lorelai had brought me a blue cap to replace it since I was probably never getting it back, which meant neither of us were missing out.

She had also taken a sneaky photo of us together. I had carried her down the stairs from my apartment and Lorelai had been waiting at the bottom with a camera. The photograph is now sat with Lorelai's other photos of Rory, but she doesn't know that a borrowed it to make a copy for my wallet, sat behind the school one of Rory from this year that Lorelai knew about.

"Dad?" She asked as I flipped the open sign.

"Yeah?"

"What will happen to Christopher?"

I sat down with her to explain, having already found out the answer from our lawyer, "If he pleads guilty like he said he would, then he'll go straight to prison, and it'll probably be for around 2 years as you usually get less time for pleading guilty."

She nodded, "And if doesn't plead guilty?"

"He will go to trial where they will decide whether he is innocent or guilty. If they declare him guilty, he will go to prison for a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 8 years; we're expecting 5 years for what he did. We will also get a payment to cover some of your medical expenses related to what he did and his parental rights will be terminated. If they decide he is innocent, he will walk free, which we don't want."

She nodded, fiddling with his pen, "Will I have to go if it goes to trial?"

"That's down to you," I admitted, "You testifying against him in person will be very helpful in removing his parental rights and sending him to prison, but you don't have to. You have already given a statement and other than asking and recording a few other questions about your relationship with him, that would be it."

She thought about it, "I think I want to go... if you and Mom are okay with it?"

I sighed, "Well, we will talk about it closer to the time as things might change between now and then, but it's completely your choice. I'm planning of going due to the fact they may want me to testify as the first person who saw you afterwards, and I want to be there anyway to see what happens."

The bell above the door rung so I kissed her cheek and returned to the counter, serving my first customer of the day. I then brought her a healthy breakfast, confiscating her pen so she couldn't work while she ate; she's not quite ready for multi-tasking like that and I didn't want her to overdo it this early in the morning.

Most people were used to Rory's permanent presence, but there were still several people who would stop in at least once a day to see how she was doing. It forced her to take breaks from what she was doing and kept her entertained.

As I watched her talk with Patty, I realised that I'd miss her when she went back to school. Being able to keep my eye on her all day had been comforting after the last few months, and the idea of her going back to school wasn't something I liked the idea of, and I'd miss her being around. Of course, I knew that I'd still see her daily, but it wouldn't be the same. Not like the way it was right this minute.

"Luke?" She asked me as I dropped off some plates to the next table. I turned to her, and she smiled at me, "I'm hungry."

I was stunned at the comment, but I beamed at her. While she had asked for food and eaten it, she hadn't actually had an appetite and was eating the bare minimum. I was even willing to feed her something unhealthy if she wanted it, but she hadn't even asked for anything.

"What do you want?" I asked, not caring enough to force something healthy on her.

"French toast. And bacon. Please," She said, looking at me with those big, puppy dog eyes of hers. I chuckled.

"Coming right up."

I made it myself rather than delegating it to Caesar, grinning the entire time. She finished the whole plate, and when she looked up at me, she smiled at me, "I was hungry."

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

"You're going back to school next week," I said, trying to sound excited. We had just come back from another follow-up, and the surgeon had cleared her for most school activities, but to ease her back in, starting with a week of mornings only.

Rory was happy about it, but I wasn't. I wasn't ready, and by the seems of it, neither was Luke. He had been quiet all the way home from the hospital and was silently cooking dinner in the kitchen. While Luke isn't particularly chatty anyway, he normally had a conversation with us while in the car, usually to distract Rory since driving still makes her slightly nauseous.

He was silently doing what both me and Rory tended to do out loud. We run through all bad scenarios out loud, driving him insane since he knew it helped nobody. However, he was clearly doing that, just in his head. And so was I.

_She could fall and we wouldn't be there to catch her. She could have a tremor and be unable to complete her work. She could get nauseous and throw up in front of the whole class. She could be forced to remove her hat, revealing the scar. The other kids could make fun of her scar since there's almost no way to fully hide it with her hair. She could over-exert herself and cause all of these problems listed above._

"I can hear you thinking from over here," He wrapped his arms around my middle as he murmured that, and I leaned my head back and against his shoulder.

"I could say that about you, too," I kept my voice quiet, not wanting Rory to hear.

He pressed a gentle kiss to my neck, "I don't think I'm ready for her to go back to school..."

"Neither am I," I admitted, turning around to face him, "But a big part of being a parent is doing what is best for your child, no matter how you feel about it, even if it kills you inside."

He sighed, "I admire you; you know? I have no idea how you've done this for 10 years, completely alone. I don't think I could do it without you."

I chuckled, "It takes a village; I was never completely alone and I couldn't have done it without Mia, or Sookie, or you."

I pressed my lips to his, wrapping my arms around his neck. When I pulled back, I started talking again, "We are going to put our personal feelings aside and do what's best for Rory, and we'll do it because of how much we love Rory. I'm terrified, but this will be good for her. I know it."

"Dad, how long will dinner be?" Rory called from her bedroom, and he grinned the way he does when she calls him 'Dad'.

"Twenty minutes," He called back, and a realisation hit me.

"Crap," I swore, stepping out of his arms, "We need to have dinner with my parents before Rory goes back to school. Why did I suggest monthly dinners once Rory was better?"

"You were emotional," He said with a laugh, "Call them while I check on the food."

* * *

"I can't believe I suggested this," I muttered under my breath, getting out of the car. Luke rolled his eyes, having spent two days listening to me say the same thing over and over, and helped Rory out of the car, ignoring the fact that she didn't really need the help anymore.

"Please can I wear the hat," Rory pleaded with Luke. She had spent the last few hours pleading with me and had now moved onto Luke. She knew it was in my bag, just in case things got particularly bad or we decided to stop on the way home, but she wouldn't be able to wear it at dinner, and I knew she couldn't hide behind it forever.

"Sorry kid, but if I can't wear one, neither can you," He said softly, crouching down to her level, "The scar isn't as bad as you think and they've seen it before. It's not like school."

I could see that she wanted to argue further, but knew she wasn't winning this fight. She sighed and shoved her hands into her coat pockets, walking towards the door. We joined her, knowing that we'd be late if we idled any more, and I pressed the doorbell, ignoring my shaking hands.

My mother immediately opened the door, having been waiting behind it. I barely got a word out when she wrapped her arms around Rory in a way she had never done before. I don't even remember her doing that with me at any point, and my heart broke a little further.

"I apologise, Rory, I just... We came so close to losing you and I needed to do that."

Her cheeks had turned a bright red and she straightened herself out, "Rory and Luke, go on through there, Richard is waiting for you but I need a quick word with Lorelai."

They went through and I could hear Luke and my father talking about god-knows-what, and my mother grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the dining room, out of earshot to everyone else.

"How dare you not tell us that it was Christopher who did that to her," She was angry, and her voice was dangerously low, a tone I hadn't heard since I had informed her that I was pregnant, "He is never allowed anywhere near her again, do you understand?"

Her second sentence took me back, "Do you think I'm stupid? We're pressing charges, Mom. We're fighting to have his parental rights removed, for him to go to prison and for Rory's medical expenses to be paid."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She looked rather hurt, so I explained.

"It's Rory's story to tell. I didn't feel right informing you about this without her permission. If we had needed money for a lawyer, we would have come to you, but right now, it's pretty clear cut and we have everyone on our side. Please don't tell her that you know; she's so ashamed of what happened and just isn't ready to tell the world. Other than the necessary professionals, and me and Luke, she hasn't told anyone."

Mom thought for a moment, "Is she able to testify if he doesn't plead guilty?"

"We don't know yet," I admitted, "She has to be evaluated by a physiatrist to see if she's mature enough and well enough to go up on the stand."

"Okay," She said and, as I was about to ask how she found out, "We better rejoin the others."

We walked into the dining room and Dad passed me a glass of wine. Luke looked at me curiously, trying to figure out what just happened, but I slightly shook my head.

"So Rory, you're going back to school on Monday?" Mom asked, acting like our conversation never happened, thank god.

"Only for the first two lessons. I have to do that for a week, and then it's a week of staying until lunch, and then I can go back full time. Well, that's if everything goes well," She explained, wrinkling her nose a little at the end.

She furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?"

"Mom and Luke have to watch me closely for new symptoms to make sure I don't overdo it. If I get a fever or start passing out, I have to stop going or cut back on the hours."

"Or you'll have to stop reading halfway into the night," I pointed out, knowing she had 6 weeks of class reading to catch up on; luckily, she didn't currently know what books she was supposed to be reading.

"Or you'll have to stop stressing out about the fact you're 'behind'," Luke said, raising his eyebrows at her. She had stressed herself out about 3 weeks ago because Lane had told her she missed a standard test, and it had caused a slight set back in her progress.

Dad looked confused, "You're ten, it's not like you can really get behind. Especially a smart kid like you."

Luke laughed, "That's what I thought, and she's been doing a bit of makeup work at home, anyway. Mostly reading comprehension and basic maths to keep her up to date."

"But I'll have to go to summer school this year, and I'm pretty sure Harvard won't accept students who need that kind of help!" Rory insisted for probably the fiftieth time since her operation.

"You had brain surgery. You aren't in summer school because you were lazy or stupid, but because you had brain surgery. I'm fairly certain Harvard can forgive a 10-year-old for having brain surgery and needing time off to recover. And if not, they're a bunch of idiots, which is really saying something given that they're supposed to be highly intelligent."

I looked down into my glass as I fought the urge to smile. Luke has had this conversation with her almost daily for three weeks and while it didn't seem to be sinking in, it mattered that he was still saying the same thing.

"That was very well put, Luke," Mom said, and when I looked up at her, her eyes seemed softer. Kinder.

Maybe this entire experience has put things into perspective for her as well.


	19. Chapter 19

"I know," I grumbled, feeling her eyes on me, "You were supposed to pick her up to bring her to the diner so you got to lay eyes on her, too, but I couldn't wait."

She started giggling, "That's not why I was looking at you that way. I was more thinking about the fact that you were here before me and I'm half hour early. I half-expected you to turn up."

"I forgot how close the school was?" I tried, hoping she would believe me.

She laughed again, "If you say so."

She walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me gently, "Have you been as much of a wreck as I have?"

"I shouted at several customers, so I believe the answer is yes... but it also might be the fact that Christopher didn't plead guilty and she needs to testify," I admitted guiltily, "Do you think she's okay?"

"I think the school would have called if something was wrong," She told me, but it didn't make me feel any better.

Half an hour later, she came out the front doors, looking absolutely exhausted. She was pale and sweaty, her steps a little wobbly. The surgeon had warned us that this was perfectly normal for the first day back but actually seeing it was completely different. We started walking towards her, knowing she was close to collapse, but her knees gave out just before we got there.

I managed to catch her just before she hit the ground, and I wrapped my arms around her. My heart was beating so hard that my chest hurt and my mouth was suddenly very dry. Lorelai took Rory from my embrace, wanting to hug Rory herself. Collapsing was on the 'too much, too soon' list rather than the 'what to expect' list.

"You scared us! Why didn't you come out sooner?" Lorelai demanded to know, fear clearly in control.

"I wanted to get through the two hours. It was only two hours, I should have been able to manage it," She explained sadly.

"You weren't ready, and that's okay. We'll try again next week since you almost managed it. How does that sound?" I asked, wanting to keep her calm. Anger often triggered a setback and she didn't need any more of those.

She sighed but nodded anyway. I picked up her bag, and put it on my back, "Do you think you can walk or do you need help?"

"I need help."

She was getting better at asking for help, but only when prompted. She was the type of person to suffer in silence, and this wasn't something she could safely do that with. I scooped her up in my arms, holding her close, and walked to Lorelai's car.

* * *

I got her settled in her corner, covering her up with her blanket. She preferred resting downstairs, which I didn't mind since it meant I could watch her and get to her quicker, but I did worry about the noise level. Luckily, she could generally sleep through anything.

Lorelai sat at the counter with a cup of coffee that she had poured herself while I dealt with Rory, and stared over her shoulder at our kid, "What happened today can't happen again. Once you get that type of surgery, you're more likely to need it again, which means hitting her head is much more dangerous. And you almost didn't get to her in time... It can't happen again."

"Rory is 10. She is going to hit her head again because she's 10 years old and we can't protect her from everything," I stopped for a moment, sighing, "We can teach her to be more careful but we cannot be by her side at all times while maintaining a normal life and giving her a good life. She needs that independence, and part of that is going to school."

"I hate that you're right," Lorelai grumbled and I laughed.

"I hate that I'm right, too. I want to wrap her in cotton wool and stick her in a plastic bubble, but I can't. Does that urge ever go away?"

It was her turn to laugh, and she shook her head, "It hasn't yet. It's got easier to ignore, but it has not gone anywhere yet. I'll let you know when it does."

She stood up and leaned over the counter to kiss me, "I have to go. I love you."

"I love you too," I said, kissing her once more, harder than the previous one. I then returned to work, my eyes never leaving Rory.

"How was her first day back?" A voice asked, making me jump. Miss Patty.

I hesitated before answering, "She collapsed on her way out, but it was otherwise good."

She was in here every day getting updates from me and Rory, spreading them around. It limited the number of people coming in to bother her, but it hadn't stopped Kirk from coming in daily to ask why she needed surgery.

Most people had no idea why she had the surgery. There were a lot of rumours floating around since Rory wasn't sharing those details, but apart from Kirk, nobody was really asking her. They were just making assumptions. Some of these rumours accused Lorelai of trying to kill her, which was why Rory was missing, some had accused me of beating both girls black and blue, some had assumed Rory had cancer or a tumour, and some had (correctly) assumed that it was something to do with her father.

I knew she was writing about it in her new notepad; she wanted to be a journalist when she was older, and she had decided that it would be good practice to write about something she had actually experienced but had decided that no one could read it until she was done.

She had been given the idea after someone from The Stars Hollow Gazette had asked her to talk to them about it, and had decided to write her own piece and try to get it published so they had all the answers in one hit. She had also considered sending it to her grandparents so they had the full story without having to sit there and explain it all; she was worried that they'd interrupt too much for her to get through the whole story properly.

I had read many pieces of writing of hers, but this was something that I was really looking forward to since it would be the first thing that she's written about that personally involves and affects her.


End file.
